Last summer, we wrote about the Ice Bucket Challenge in support of the ALS Association. This year, a young 
Bruins fan’s viral video has launched a new awareness campaign. Liam Fitzgerald, 8 years old, was seen fist-bumping Boston Bruins players during their warm-up last November, and captured the hearts of hockey fans around the nation. In 2011, Liam “kicked cancer’s butt,” and is now working on raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with his own “Fist Bump Challenge.” Less bracing than a bucket of ice water, Liam’s campaign asks people to post pictures or videos of themselves fist bumping each other on social media and donating $5—$1 for each finger and thumb—and then nominating five more people to participate in the challenge.
Leukemia is a cancer that affects blood and bone marrow and develops when blood cells produced in the bone marrow grow out of control. It’s estimated that over 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with leukemia every year and 24,000 die from the disease annually. Lymphoma is the name for a group of blood cancers that develop in the lymphatic system. Nearly 80,000 new cases of lymphoma are diagnosed in the US every year.
While donating to research into these cancers can help find an effective treatment or cure, NeedyMeds offers information on several programs that may be able to help those currently suffering and requiring assistance. We have discussed resources for leukemia and lymphoma in a previous blog post. To refresh, NeedyMeds has Disease Information Pages for both leukemia and lymphoma with links to Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) for medications commonly prescribed for leukemia and lymphoma patients, offering them at low- or no cost. We also have Diagnosis-Based Assistance (DBA) pages leukemia and lymphoma. Additional assistance may also be found in our DBA page for all cancers. Visit our site or call NeedyMeds’ toll-free helpline (800-503-6897) for information.
