From Hoop Dreams to Hopes for Cures

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Sept. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 11-year-old Kyle Markes passed away of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on December 24, 2013, just days before he was set to be his idol Kevin Durant's special guest at an Oklahoma Thunder game on Christmas Day. Every three minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer. Almost 150,000 Americans will be diagnosed with these cancers this year. More than 1.1 million Americans are living with, or in remission from a blood cancer. Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children, adolescents and young adults younger than age 20. Kyle was not one of the lucky ones.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and Behind the Bench, The National Basketball Wives Association (BTB) are determined to call a foul on cancers. They are forging a partnership to raise $1 million for blood cancer cures, with its annual NBA All-Star Weekend and "Touching A Life" Gala, February 13, 2015, in New York City. The prestigious All-Star Gala attracts popular NBA players for a star-studded evening of inspiration, philanthropy and entertainment.  At the 2015 event, Kevin Durant, or one of his OKC Thunder teammates, will give the "Heart of Courage" award to Kyle's mother, Jackque Markes.

"The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is honored to join forces with this committed, passionate group, whose efforts will shine a spotlight on the urgent need to raise funds to find cures for blood cancers and ensure patients have access to treatments," states LLS President and CEO and Chief  Mission Officer, Louis J. DeGennaro, Ph.D. "It's especially fitting to launch our partnership during Blood Cancer Awareness Month, as we aim to create awareness for blood cancers, the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S.  We're privileged to work with Behind the Bench to reach the influential and generous NBA community with our call to action. Together, we can make an impact on cancer treatments and cures, not someday, but today."

As the first national player/wives organization, the non-profit Behind the Bench, The National Basketball Wives Association, formerly known as Women of the NBA, was established in 1993, by Deborah A. Williams, Ph.D., to address the challenges facing players' families, especially the women and children.

To kick off the NBA wives' activities for the 2015 Gala, Behind The Bench: The National Basketball Wives Association is set to donate laptop computers to children at Harlem Hospital in New York City, in a special community service event on September 11, 2014.  This program was inspired by a child who wanted to communicate with her brother, her bone marrow match, while she was hospitalized.

"We are so pleased to announce our partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in conjunction with this very special community service initiative at Harlem Hospital, which provides a lifeline to the outside world for these hospitalized children," states, Kristina Ratliff, Behind the Bench president.  "As the leading organization comprised of current and retired NBA players' wives and life partners, we work every day to improve the lives of families, especially children like Kyle."

"This community service event at Harlem Hospital demonstrates that Behind the Bench shares LLS's commitment to providing comfort and support, along with medical treatment, to children with cancer and other illnesses," states Michele Przypyszny, executive director of the New York City Chapter of LLS.

"In our 65 year history, LLS has invested more than $1 billion in research to advance cancer therapies and save lives. Survival rates since the early 1960s have doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled, thanks to research and access to better treatments. In that time, cures for many patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and Hodgkin lymphoma have been achieved and the five-year survival rate for children with ALL jumped from three percent in 1964 to approximately 90 percent in 2014. But there is more work to be done. Despite this progress, more than one third of blood cancer patients still do not survive five years after their diagnosis. With no means of screening or prevention for most blood cancers, we must focus on cures in order to achieve our goal of a world without blood cancers," states DeGennaro. 

"Harlem Hospital Center is honored to receive this generous gift from Behind The Bench: The National Basketball Wives Association.  Their donation of laptops, assisted by the KINfolk organization, to the children of Harlem Hospital Center will go a long way towards improving our pediatric patients' experience while they are in our care. We are proud of our strong performance across many areas of quality and patient safety, and we remain committed to providing high quality healthcare to the Harlem community and all the New Yorkers we serve," says Denise C. Soares, RN, MA, Senior Vice President, Generations+/Northern Manhattan Health Network, Executive Director, Harlem Hospital Center & Renaissance Health Network, New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation.

Kyle Markes never met his hero Kevin Durant. But Durant has written Kyle's name on his sneakers for every game as reminder that we must keep driving to the hoop for cancer cures in his honor.

About Blood Cancers
Leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative neoplasms are types of cancer that can affect the bone marrow, the blood cells, the lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system. These diseases are related in the sense that they may all result from acquired mutations to the DNA of a single lymph- or blood-forming stem cell. With blood cancers, abnormal cells multiply and survive without the usual controls that are in place for healthy cells. The accumulation of these cells in the marrow, blood or lymphatic tissue interferes with production and functioning of red cells, white cells and platelets. The disease process can lead to severe anemia, bleeding, an impaired ability to fight infection, or death.

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ® (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in White Plains, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org. Patients should contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.

About Behind the Bench, The National Basketball Wives Association (BTB)
BTB is a global non-profit organization dedicated to empowering, inspiring and positively impacting the lives of children and families of global communities. To date, Behind the Bench has donated over $2 million to both national and local non-profit organizations. Each year BTB hosts its annual conference as well as host the "Touching A Life Luncheon" during NBA All-Star Weekend. This annual luncheon recognizes local individuals and organizations in support of their communities. Our past honorees have included notable dignitaries such as Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron, Patti LaBelle, Janet Jackson, Shaquille O'Neal, Cookie Johnson, and Calvin Johnson, Jr., amongst many others.  To learn more visit www.behindthebench.org.

About Harlem Hospital Center
Harlem Hospital Center is a 282-bed hospital that provides a broad array of preventive, primary and acute care services including general medicine and medical subspecialties, general surgery and surgical subspecialties, infectious diseases, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and neonatology; burn and critical care; radiology imaging and nuclear medicine; rehabilitation medicine and physical, speech and occupational therapies; psychiatry and substance abuse services; dental and oral surgery, and emergency adult and pediatric services. We are an Area-Wide Burn Center and Level I Trauma, with Centers of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery, Breast Imaging and Sexual Assault Forensics, a designated Stroke and AIDS Center, a World Health Organization's UNICEF Designated Baby Friendly Hospital and a member of America's Essential Hospitals Safety Net Hospitals.  Harlem Hospital Center is a member of  New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and part of the Generations+/Northern Manhattan Health Network. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/harlem/html/home/home.shtml or call (212) 939-1000.

About HHC
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system and is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country. HHC provides a wide range of high quality and affordable healthcare services to 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC offers medical, mental health and substance abuse services, as well as specialized care for a wide range of health conditions through its numerous Centers of Excellence. Comprehensive, personalized care is available to all New Yorkers at HHC's 11 acute care hospitals, five skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC's own MetroPlus Health Plan is one of the New York area's largest providers of government-sponsored health insurance and is the plan of choice for 445,000 New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission's John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. Several HHC facilities have been recognized nationally for clinical excellence and commitment to quality achievements. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/hhc or find us on facebook.com/nycHHC or twitter.com/HHCnyc.

Contact: Amanda Bullock
(212) 376-4649
[email protected]

Rachel Lederman
(914) 821-8213
[email protected]

SOURCE The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society