Tag: PAP

Blood Cancer Awareness Month

September is National Blood Cancer Awareness Month, also known as Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month.  Leukemia is a type of blood cancer that is fairly common, with an estimated 52,380 new cases in 2014. From the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society website: “Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, the spongy center of bones where our blood cells are formed. The disease develops when blood cells produced in the bone marrow grow out of control.” There are multiple types of Leukemia, some more common than others.   Lymphoma is similar to Leukemia in that it is a […]

What is a Patient Assistance Program?

More and more Americans struggle everyday with the rising cost of medications.  This can lead to families making difficult decisions, often forgoing needed meds in order to cover the cost of food, housing, or transportation.  However, there is help available.  Many pharmaceutical companies, along with some pharmacies and non-profit groups, manage Patient Assistance Programs (or PAPs) that offer the medication at reduced or no cost.  So how do these programs work?  And where can you find one?   What is a PAP? Patient Assistance Programs are programs usually designed by a pharmaceutical company to offer medications to low income or […]

Leukemia & Lymphoma Resources

In honor of Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month we are focusing this week’s blog post on resources for these two conditions. Leukemia is a type of blood cancer that is fairly common, with an estimated 48,610 new cases each year. From the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society website, “Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, the spongy center of bones where our blood cells are formed. The disease develops when blood cells produced in the bone marrow grow out of control.” There are multiple types of Leukemia, some more common than others. The four most […]

Resources for Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a fairly common disorder, with nearly 60,000 people diagnosed in the United States every year. It is a progressive neurological disease that affects the body’s motor system. There are a variety of symptoms, from Parkinson’s Action Network, “The four primary symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are tremor, or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face; rigidity, or stiffness of the limbs and trunk; bradykinesia, or slowness of movement; and postural instability, or impaired balance and coordination.”Currently the cause of Parkinson’s Disease is unknown and there is no cure, but according to Parkinson’s Action Network “scientists and researchers […]

All About Resources for Hearing Loss and Deafness

In today’s blog post we highlight a number of national and state programs that assist those who are deaf or suffering from hearing loss. Hearing loss affects many Americans, with approximately 3 out of every 1,000 children born deaf, along with 17% of the nation reporting some degree of hearing loss. Symptoms of hearing loss include muffled speech and sounds, difficulty understanding words in a group of people, need to turn up the volume of the radio or TV, and social issues such as withdrawal or avoidance of social gatherings. What Causes Hearing Loss? There are two major types of […]

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Welcome to the NeedyMeds Voice! We look forward to presenting you with timely, provocative pieces on healthcare reform, patient advocacy, medication and healthcare access, and other health-related news. Our goals are to educate, enlighten, and elucidate; together, we will try to make sense of the myriad and ongoing healthcare-related changes in the U.S. today.