The Bloodline with Blood Cancer United Podcast

William Yank Join us as we speak to William Yank, a 23-year-old, three-time Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) survivor. In this episode, we hear about the variety of treatments William went through, his relapses and then subsequent stem cell transplant. Now one year out of transplant, he shares about his post-cancer journey – going viral on TikTok, becoming the face of the LLS Giving Tuesday...

Join us as we speak to Dr. Lori Muffly and Dr. Matthew Frank from Stanford Medicine in Stanford, CA, about the recent advancements in testing for Minimal/Measurable Residual Disease (MRD). In this episode, we delve into what MRD is, which blood cancers testing is currently used on, and how we can utilize it to more accurately monitor patients and customize treatment. The doctors also share excitin...

Join us as we start a brand new series, Patient-Doctor Perspectives , where we explore a diagnosis from the view of a patient and doctor. In this episode, we speak to Ashley Cámara, a Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) survivor and advocate and Dr. Lucy Godley from The University of Chicago Medicine. Ashley shares her story of having two MDS diagnoses in her family – first her brother and then hersel...

Join us as we report from the 2020 Virtual CancerCon and speak to Kyle Benner, a young adult survivor of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), and Nikki Yuill, a social worker with the LLS Information Resource Center. In this episode, we discuss young adult cancer (15-39 yrs) and what happens from diagnosis through survivorship. Learn about the unique issues that young adults face and how LLS is her...

Ola Ojewumi Join us as we speak to Ola Ojewumi, a patient and health advocate with Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder (PTLD), a type of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. In this episode, Ola tells us about the difficulties she has faced as a Black disabled woman with chronic pain. She shares her experiences with racism and inequities in healthcare and how she has learned to advocate for herself and...

Christabel Cheung, PhD, MSW Join us for Part Two of a special two-part series as we speak to Dr. Christabel Cheung, a two-time Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivor. In this episode, Christabel talks about her extraordinary struggles as a young adult with cancer, such as living alone without family support and having high healthcare costs. She also delves into the health disparities, racism and racial insensi...

Christabel Cheung, PhD, MSW Join us for a special two-part episode as we speak to Dr. Christabel Cheung, a two-time Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivor. In Part One, Christabel tells us about her longtime journey with lymphoma, including a relapse and going through the second diagnosis during a global pandemic. She shares her struggles of not only a diagnosis, where she is in the small percentage that didn’...

Join us as we speak with Shelly Rosenfeld, Esq. from the Cancer Legal Resource Center and Dr. Steven Pergam from Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Ms. Rosenfeld and Dr. Pergam presented at CancerCon during a session called, “Understanding Medical Marijuana: It’s a Joint Effort”. In this episode, our speakers dive into the various forms of marijuana, how they can be used to combat side effe...

Laurie Sehn, MD, MPH Join us as we report on the latest developments in immunotherapy from the 62 nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition that was hosted virtually December 5-8, 2020. In this episode, we will be speaking to Dr. Laurie Sehn, a Clinical Professor and Researcher with the British Columbia Cancer Centre for Lymphoid Cancer and The University of British Col...

Courtney DiNardo, MD, MSCE Join us as we speak to Dr. Courtney DiNardo from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. about the recent advancements in AML treatment.  Dr. DiNardo is an academic clinical researcher who has participated in clinical trials resulting in three new AML therapies since 2017. In this episode, we dive into the new treatments that are showing great promise, as well as...

Meredith Hemphill Ruden, DSW, LCSW Join us as we speak to Dr. Meredith Hemphill Ruden, who had an informative session at CancerCon on Parenting with Cancer. Meredith is a licensed clinical social worker, 13-year Melanoma cancer survivor and Executive Director of the Feather Foundation. In this episode, Meredith dives into the challenging topic of being a parent while dealing with a cancer diagnosi...

Aaron Goldberg, MD, PhD Join us as we speak with Dr. Aaron Goldberg from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.  Dr. Goldberg discusses how secondary AML differs from AML and how treatment is determined. Secondary AML is a diagnosis of AML that has occurred after previous exposure to radiation or chemotherapy for another cancer or has evolved from a prior diagnosis of MDS, M...

Kristin Fuhrmann-Simmons Join us as we speak to Kristin Furhrmann-Simmons, a caregiver and an LLS volunteer. Kristin talks to us about caring for her father who is a CLL survivor, and how she decided to join LLS’s advocacy efforts through our Office of Public Policy.  For Kristin, it was a great way to connect with people in her community and share her family’s story.  And she knew that for her da...

James Hoffman, MD Dr. Hoffman from the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Health System in Miami, Florida speaks to us about Hodgkin lymphoma and its interesting history.  Thankfully, Hodgkin lymphoma is now highly treatable and for the majority of people curable, but not for all.  Dr. Hoffman talks to us about what makes Hodgkin lymphoma unique, as well as discus...

Ellin Berman, MD Join us as Ellin Berman, MD a leukemia expert from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center discusses the advancements in treatment for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). Dr. Berman explains how not all CLL is the same, as it is a heterogeneous disease which explains why one person’s CLL can act differently from another person’s CLL.  Dr. Berman speaks about how some patients...

Roman Reigns We will be speaking with WWE Superstar, actor, and former professional football player, Joseph Anoai, who many may know as Roman Reigns. Apart from fighting opponents in the ring, Roman found himself fighting his biggest opponent yet after receiving his leukemia diagnosis back in 2007. Listen as Roman Reigns explains his cancer journey to our very own President & CEO, Dr. Louis De...

Mary J. Ninan, MD Dr. Mary Ninan speaks to Alicia, Lizette, and Edith about the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), known as Diffuse Large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). With over 70 subtypes of NHL, the priority when Dr. Ninan sees a patient with lymphoma is to confirm which subtype the patient has been diagnosed with in order to determine the best treatment plan. Dr. Ninan explains how...

Lori Leslie, MD Has the Coronavirus (COVID-19) affected your non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment? Join Alicia, Lizette and Edith as they speak with Dr. Lori Leslie about non-Hodgkin lymphoma and how patients have been receiving treatment during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Leslie is a part of the lymphoma division of the John Theurer Cancer Center in Hackensack NJ.  She treats lymphoma and C...

Brett Hagler Join this conversation as Alicia, Edith and Lizette sit down to chat with Brett Hagler.  Brett is an author, cancer survivor, and CEO of New Story, an organization that pioneers solutions to end global homelessness by working to create the world’s first 3D-printed community. On this episode, Brett explains how his chondrosarcoma diagnosis helped to refine his focus and futu...

Stephen B. Thomas, PhD Join this insightful conversation as Alicia, Edith and Lizette sit down to chat with Dr. Stephen B. Thomas, one of the nation’s leading scholars in the effort to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. Dr. Thomas is a Professor of Health Policy & Management and Director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity at the University of Maryland School of Public Health...

Benjamin Lampson, MD Join Alicia, Lizette and Edith as they speak with Dr. Benjamin Lampson.  Dr. Lampson is an instructor in medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  On this episode, Dr. Lampson explains how mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is diagnosed and treated. Dr. Lampson gives his advice for MCL patients during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He also shares the long-term effects...

Viviana Onofre Join Alicia, Lizette and Edith as they speak with Viviana Onofre about her follicular lymphoma diagnosis that she received in November 2015. On this episode she describes minor signs that she noticed prior to being diagnosed, the importance of patients educating themselves about their diagnosis to help relieve anxiety, asking questions to better understand health insurance to avoid...

Shella Saint Fleur-Lominy, MD, PhD Join Alicia and Lizette as they speak with Dr. Shella Saint Fleur-Lominy, MD, PhD, a hematologist and physician scientist from NYU Langone Health in New York, New York. Dr. Saint Fleur-Lominy is triple board certified in internal medicine, hematology and medical oncology. On this episode, Dr. Saint Fleur-Lominy explains the signs and symptoms of acute lymphoblast...

Marni Amsellem, PhD May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) recognizes the unique issues faced by blood cancer patients and caregivers from the moment of diagnosis throughout survivorship. These include psychosocial and emotional effects such as relationship stress, anxiety, depression, survivor guilt and more, which are further compounded by current events....

Ruben A. Mesa, MD, FACP What does the effect of the virus have on blood cancer patients? What are hospitals doing to ensure cancer patients can still get treatment during this pandemic? What makes COVID-19 so different than other viruses? Has there been any progress made regarding treatment for COVID-19? Join us on this episode as Alicia and Lizette speak with Ruben A. Mesa, M.D., FACP who will an...