Blood cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma affect around 34,000 people in the UK each year, but a survey of 2,000 people revealed that 64% of people in the region are unable to recognise the symptoms.
| To nd out how you can help go to
blood cancer charities Anthony Nolan and Delete
Blood Cancer UK at www.anthonynolan.org and www.deletebloodcancer.org.uk
Collectively the charities involved in
Blood Cancer Awareness Month have spent many millions of pounds to improve treatment for
blood cancer - but there is still more to do.
He said that eventually, understanding the complex genetics of
blood cancers should allow us to assess a person's risk or identify new avenues for treatment.
has been involved since Delete
Blood Cancer's inception over 20 years ago, playing an instrumental role in recruiting bone marrow donors for patients with
blood cancer.
DNA ''repair inhibitors'' have been successful in treating breast cancer and other
blood cancers and it is believed these drugs could also be used to target CLL cells which have become resistant to standard chemotherapy.
After signing up to the Great North Run, Graeme then heard the terrible news that his friend Barry Mullan's nine-monthold daughter Abbie had also been diagnosed with
blood cancer, and will require a stem cell transplant.
Since 1946 the Leukemia Research Foundation has been funding research and providing support to people and families impacted by a
blood cancer diagnosis.
A survey from the charity Bloodwise suggests 39 per cent of us had at least one symptom that could have been
blood cancer in the last year but didn't see a doctor.
Leukaemia Care, a national
blood cancer charity, is attempting to raise awareness of the disease, as well as its signs and symptoms, as part of its Spot Leukaemia campaign.
Despite
blood cancer being the fifth most common cancer in the UK, the charity Bloodwise has found half the public cannot name a single symptom.