Blood Cancer United - Mid-Atlantic Region

10/13/2026

Congratulations to our October D.C. Visionaries of the Year Leadership Committee Members of the Month, Krystal Culpepper and Lee-Lee Ellis! Krystal recently nominated and secured her first candidate, and Lee-Lee has held four meetings with two candidates signing on. We're so thankful for your leadership - keep up the great work!

10/05/2026

Congratulations to our September D.C. Visionaries of the Year Leadership Committee Members of the Month! Both Christine and Jen started nominating candidates for our 2027 campaign early and often! We are so thankful for your passionate leadership and dedicated involvement.

10/02/2026

Our third candidate to sign on to our D.C. Visionaries of the Year campaign is Chelsea Magaha with DC Prime Steaks! Chelsea is running in honor of a dear friend, Aiden, who served as our campaign's Honored Hero in 2025. Aiden and his family have known Chelsea for years, and she is excited to celebrate his journey and support other families facing blood cancer.

Welcome to the campaign, Chelsea! We're so grateful to have you join us and can't wait to see the impact you'll make this year.

09/26/2026

Valvoline and Blood Cancer United are Driving for a Dream with a special livery on William Byron’s No. 24 for the upcoming race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Designed by Palmer, a 12-year-old blood cancer hero and artist, the colorful beach themed livery represents joy, strength, and resilience.

Take a look at the behind-the-scenes design process of how Emily Butler Lue and Harris Lue of LUE Creative brought Palmer’s vision to life.

09/25/2026

Be Kind to Your Mind 🧘‍♂️🧘‍♀️

Patients, survivors, and caregivers can order a Be Kind to Your Mind wellness box, created with mental well-being in mind. We’re also featured in the September Elephants and Tea September Issue, sharing stories and resources from the blood cancer community.

Check it out and order your box today!
https://bit.ly/4Axg81j

09/25/2026

09/25/2026

We are proud to recognize Katie Yanushonis, Senior Vice President at TMG, as Chair Emeritus of the 2027 40th Anniversary Blood Cancer United Ball. Katie's leadership and dedication have been instrumental to the Ball's success for many years, serving as Co-Chair in 2025 and Chair in 2026. A longtime Executive Committee member, she has consistently championed our mission and inspired others through her passion, vision, and commitment to advancing the fight against blood cancers. We are deeply grateful for her continued partnership and honored to celebrate her remarkable legacy during this milestone anniversary year.

09/25/2026

"Over 65 years of life, I’ve walked through many difficult seasons, and what I know for certain is this: in every single one, God has been with me, and He has seen me through. But when I got married in February 2023, life felt full again, full of joy, full of plans, full of promise. At my niece’s wedding, while line dancing, I felt a sudden 'pop' in my rib. I never imagined that moment would lead to a diagnosis of multiple myeloma (MM), just three months after marrying my sweet husband, Ray.

I had been enjoying retirement after working since I was 14. I survived shingles in 2020 and an emergency appendectomy that same year. I had been savoring time with my five beautiful grandchildren. Then came 2023, a year I expected to spend traveling and building new memories with the love of my life. Instead, pain, muscle spasms, compression fractures, and rib fractures brought everything to a halt.

Looking back, I realized I had been tired and hurting for a long time but had pushed through it, as I always do. My pain tolerance is high, but this was beyond anything I’d ever known. I thought nothing could hurt worse than labor... then shingles came. And then cancer said, ‘Let me show you what pain really is.’

A stem cell transplant on December 29, 2023.

In June 2024, I got the call: I am MRD-negative and still MRD-negative over a year later. God is great! They may say myeloma is incurable, but I know this: nothing is too hard for God. If He did it before, He can do it again.”

For Dawn, "more" meant more time with her new husband, Ray. Just three months after they were married, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Instead of the travel and adventures they had planned, they faced a blood cancer diagnosis together.

Today, Dawn is MRD-negative and continuing to make memories with her family, her grandchildren, and the life she fought so hard to keep living.

September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month, and we are working toward a future filled with more. Help us raise more awareness and work toward a future where everyone affected by blood cancer has more time to love, more time to dream, and more time to write the next chapter of their story.

We're working toward more time, more hope, and more tomorrows. Learn more about our resources: https://bcutd.org/3Ufxqzz

09/25/2026

More and more support, guidance, and peace of mind.​

​This Blood Cancer Awareness Month, we want every patient and family to know about a free resource that does not get talked about enough. ​

​Open enrollment is coming, and finding the right health insurance plan for your specific needs may lower your out-of-pocket costs. Our Medical Debt Case Managers provide personalized, one-on-one health insurance evaluations to help prevent future medical debt.​

​Because more and more awareness can lead to more and more action.

Preventing medical debt starts with getting on the right insurance plan. Contact us to learn more 👇
https://bcutd.org/3TLuwT8

09/24/2026

Meet Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

A recent National Academy of Medicine electee Abdel-Wahab’s project studies a mutation in the SRSF2 gene. It shows up in 25% of people with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), 50% of people with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, and 25% of people with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) over age 65. Understanding what's happening at the molecular level with genes like SRSF2 could mean one new drug works across all of these types of blood cancer.

“Finding funding for this project at this early step can be challenging, but will be critical in bringing this treatment closer to patients," says Abdel-Wahab.

This project is part of the more than 250 academic research projects supported through Blood Cancer United's multi-year grants portfolio, all aimed at getting closer to better treatment options.

Learn more ⤵️
https://bcutd.org/3TTQzqR

09/24/2026

Blood Cancer United and the Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation have announced six new research grants as part of their extended HCL2030 partnership. Nearly $7 million will be invested over the next five years in research focused on better understanding what drives hairy cell leukemia and finding better therapies for patients, particularly those with variant disease or relapsed classic hairy cell leukemia.

This , learn more and read the full announcement ⤵️
https://bcutd.org/4hndl1X

09/23/2026

Reserve your table by October 30th to receive exclusive anniversary upgrades and recognition as an early leader in our historic 40th Anniversary campaign.

Diamond Table ($30,000) Partner:
Guaranteed access for table of (10) to VIP Reception Ch*****ne for your table at the Ball

Platinum Table ($15,000) Partner:
Two (2) VIP Reception invitations

Gold Table ($10,000) Partner:
Early Access to General Reception
1/4 Page Color ad in Program Book

Commit Today! - https://www.llsform.org/0036FS01/c6rvb1vgyb/index
For more information email: Melissa Foster at [email protected]

09/23/2026

Our Therapy Acceleration Program (TAP) partners work directly with innovative biotech companies to move the most promising blood cancer research from the lab into clinical trials, faster. TAP looks to change the standard of care while addressing high unmet medical needs.

Royalty Pharma's commitment to TAP is helping power that progress. With this gift of $7.5M, it marks the largest corporate donor donation that our TAP program has received.

Together, that means more treatments and more time for every patient.

Learn more about this impact on TAP ⬇️
https://bcutd.org/4yIm6ee

09/23/2026

Pass it along. 💌

If this is your family right now, you are not alone. The Dare to Dream Project is here for every family navigating a pediatric blood cancer with free resources and personalized support every step of the way. Learn more ⤵️
https://bcutd.org/4yWfnxr

09/22/2026

Your brain called. It wants a checklist. 🧠☎️

If your mental checklist is running overtime, you're not alone. As a young adult with blood cancer, there can be a lot to carry—appointments, treatment, relationships, work, and everything in between. It's okay to prioritize your mental health, ask for support, and take things one step at a time. Find free mental health resources for young adults here👇
https://bcutd.org/3TmqQXL

09/22/2026

We are so excited to welcome Anousha Salimi, Saanvi Mullapudi, and Reem Khalil as leaders in our Northern Virginia Student Visionaries of the Year campaign. As team captains for Team Crimson Angels, we can't wait to see the profound impact they are going to have on blood cancer patients and their families. Join us in celebrating their commitment to our mission in the comments below!

09/21/2026

We are so excited to welcome Salia Shields and Aqsa Suhail as leaders in our Northern Virginia Student Visionaries of the Year campaign. As team captains for Team United for Tomorrow, we can't wait to see the profound impact they are going to have on blood cancer patients and their families. Join us in celebrating their commitment to our mission in the comments below!

09/19/2026

We are so excited to welcome Akshaya Yeleti and Kaela Chopitea as leaders in our Northern Virginia Student Visionaries of the Year campaign. As team captains for Team Heros4Hope, we can't wait to see the profound impact they are going to have on blood cancer patients and their families. Join us in celebrating their commitment to our mission in the comments below!

09/18/2026

Please join us in welcoming Sasha Day as Co-Chair of the 40th Anniversary Blood Cancer United Ball!
For more than 12 years, Sasha has been a dedicated advocate for the blood cancer community, bringing passion, leadership, and an unwavering commitment to creating meaningful impact.
As President and CEO of Aramark Destinations, Sasha leads with purpose both professionally and philanthropically. Her longstanding involvement with Blood Cancer United includes service as a Board of Trustees member, Corporate Walk Chair for Baltimore Light The Night, and Chair of Student Visionaries of the Year, where she has helped inspire and empower the next generation of leaders and changemakers.
As we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Blood Cancer United Ball, Sasha's extraordinary dedication to our mission and proven leadership make her the ideal person to help guide this milestone year. Her commitment to advancing research, supporting patients and families, and building stronger communities has left a lasting impact across our organization.
Please join us in congratulating Sasha on this well-deserved leadership role and thanking her for her years of service to Blood Cancer United. Together, we look forward to making our 40th Anniversary year the most impactful in Ball history.

09/18/2026

We are so excited to welcome Ella Tiede and Logan Retzlaff as leaders in our Northern Virginia Student Visionaries of the Year campaign. As team captains for Team Light the Way, we can't wait to see the profound impact they are going to have on blood cancer patients and their families. Join us in celebrating their commitment to our mission in the comments below!