Make Blood Cancer Visible

September marks Blood Cancer Awareness Month. There are over 140 different types of blood cancers, and many forms are rare, life threatening conditions, often orphan diseases with few patients.However, together blood cancers – like leukaemias, lymphomas and myelomas – make up seven percent of all cancers.Every year, over 900,000 people are diagnosed with blood cancer worldwide, however many people remain unaware of these serious, often incurable diseases, leaving blood cancer with very little public visibility.

This limited visibility can lead to challenges for patients seeking medical help, timely diagnoses, and impact the availability of support, information and access to appropriate treatment for patients. Furthermore, those impacted may rarely hear about others in the same or similar situation. Together with the International Myeloma Foundation, Janssen wants to contribute to changing this, in order to provide hope, strength and support to those affected by blood cancers, as well as offer thought-provoking insights to engage the broader public.

To support patients and their families, Janssen will launch the Make Blood Cancer Visible campaign later this month. This campaign aims to get people talking about blood cancer, and to provide a platform for sharing unique and personal insights into what it is like to be diagnosed with, live with, care for, or treat someone with blood cancer. We are asking patients, families, caregivers and healthcare professionals to tell their emotional and physical stories behind these serious, often incurable diseases, in a variety of languages and expressive formats, such as letters, pictures, paintings, photos and postcards.

Let’s make a difference. Let’s Make Blood Cancer Visible!

Learn more about blood cancer and other forms of cancer

REFERENCES
1: Leukaemia CARE. About Blood Cancer. Available at: http://www.leukaemiacare.org.uk/about-blood-cancer Last accessed July 2015.
2: World Cancer Research Fund International. Worldwide data. Available at: http://www.wcrf.org/int/cancer-facts-figures/worldwide-data/ Last accessed July 2015.
3: Ferlay J, et al. Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 11. Globocan 2012. Available at: http://globocan.iarc.fr Last accessed July 2015.