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RUSH: We’re cruising now into the final hour of our annual Cure-A-Thon, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Cure-A-Thon, where we’re attempting to wipe out the blood cancers, and once again, the generosity being demonstrated by those of you in this audience is overawing, it is overwhelming to us. We have Pam and Larry from the leukemia society who have been with us — well, we’ve been with them for all 18 years, 18 years we’ve been doing this, and they’re up in our New York studios chronicling and tabulating the donations as they come in. We’re so far ahead of last year that it’s spooky, it is scary, and it’s heartwarming at the same time. By the way, this phone number will be active throughout the weekend, as is always the case, and the website will also be accepting donations throughout the weekend, at 877-379-8888. You don’t even have to act now if you have to ponder it because you’ll be able to contribute long past the end of today’s program. Again, it’s 877-379-8888 or RushLimbaugh.com, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and you will not be solicited by anyone.

I want to tell you a little bit about the society. I haven’t done that yet today. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, if you talk about commitment, I’ve known these people for 18 years now, and these people are soldiers, and like all of us, they’re in the midst of a surge. And they’re you, people just like you, who have been touched personally by these diseases. Family member was afflicted or a friend, somebody they loved. There are 68 chapters of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the United States and Canada, and they’re filled with people just like you, providing public and professional education, patient services for people and families facing these diseases, advocating for them in government, in the health care and insurance industries to guide and access quality cancer care, get patients, and do clinical trials, which is a huge thing to do. That takes a lot of work, and so many people want to get in on the clinical trials for new drugs and treatments and so forth, and they do yeoman’s work in getting that done. The society knows the toll that these diseases exact in a very personal way and they’re there in so many ways for the patients and the families. And you would never know them if you ran into them anywhere.

They’re just like all the other people that make this country work. They’re laboring in anonymity. They’re not seeking fame. They’re not caught up in pop culture. They’re blessed by a commitment that is the result, as I’ve said, of being personally touched by this. Now, you, many of you, fortunately, may not have a personal link to these blood cancers. But you should know that the advances made in this war have been deployed in other campaigns. Bone marrow transplants, to name one, are a direct result of advances in the fight against blood cancers. Bone marrow transplants are adult stem cell transplants, by the way, something that I really enjoy pointing out. On the adult stem cell front, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is funding research led by Dr. Robert Collins that works to prevent a deadly complication that occurs when stem cells from a person other than the patient are used that are described as non-identical. Your generosity has made that testing possible, and that testing is going to start soon. It could be another big break through thanks to people like you.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society does so much, but their biggest mission is to put your dollars to work in the laboratories and testing and under the microscope. Seventy-five percent of your donation today goes to a scientist or a technician developing the latest weapon to take the fight to these blood cancers as well as patient and support services. Now, as is always the case, we have premiums that we’re offering. One of them is a one-size-fits-all 20th anniversary T-shirt, EIB 20th anniversary T-shirt. It’s coming up August 1st. And for a $70 donation, you get a T-shirt. For a donation of $325, you get a special edition EIB golf shirt. It’s light blue with white piping and lettering. It’s got my signature on the left hand sleeve, and you do get your choice of sizes with this shirt. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, all welcome. When you go to my website and donate, you’ll be in an entirely secure area. Not even Interpol could get in, folks. None of your information will be shared or passed on to anybody outside the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. You will not receive solicitations or be harassed by telephone calls at all.

The success stories are numerous. Let’s take a look at Hodgkin’s lymphoma. One thousand seventy people died of this disease last year, but 138,000 in the United States are living with it and the long-term survival rate on Hodgkin’s lymphoma has increased. It was 40% in 1963. It’s now 86%. That’s a new high this year. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Eighteen thousand Americans died of this disease last year. Four hundred five thousand are living with this disease. Long-term survival rates up to 64%. That’s a new high as well. This is genuine progress that is being made. Myeloma. This is a tough one. It’s very stubborn. It used to have a five-year survival rate. It used to be 10%. It’s up to 34% now, the five-year survival rate from ten to 34%. And work is continuing here. So, in addition to all the progress made on the blood cancers, there are ancillary benefits to this research as well that help people who contract other forms of cancer, other than the blood cancers. As I said at the top of the hour, your donations are running way, way, way ahead of last year, and everybody’s very moved by that, because we all are aware of the rising costs of basic staples in life such as food, gasoline, and the like. It’s always appreciated, but I think this year you have Pam and Larry and all the people, and me, sort of sitting here in a dazed, stunned appreciation for this, because it was totally unexpected. So thank you very much again.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Diane in Lake Worth, Florida, right down I-95 here. Welcome to the EIB Network. Nice to have you with us.

CALLER: Hail commander-in-chief of Operation Chaos.

RUSH: Thank you.

CALLER: It’s an honor to speak to you today, and I would like to echo the sentiments of Gary. I think he was from Michigan, and you as well. I have a grandson who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2005, and I’m so nervous, did I say he was five-and-a-half?

RUSH: No, you didn’t.

CALLER: He’s five-and-a-half, and we’re still fighting the fight. And if all goes well, he should be, hopefully, without any relapse, be finished with his rigorous chemotherapy in May.

RUSH: You know, this is a good point. One of the things I have failed to mention today is the number of children that are stricken with this disease.

CALLER: Yes. Yes.

RUSH: It would surprise people. People associate cancer with advanced age.

CALLER: Right. And, you know, it’s like Gary said, it’s devastating to the family. Your whole world is changed in one moment by one word. But I do have to say, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has been there. They offer workshops for the family. They have special dinners that you can take the children to for leukemia patients. They have connections to where you can send a leukemia patient to get away from everything, you know, at camps, et cetera. It isn’t only the research, although the research is the most important thing. It’s hard going through, you know, because you always sit on that corner, you know, is the relapse coming or is it not? But with God’s blessing he’s going to be finished in May, and hopefully he’ll get a clean bill of health.

RUSH: Absolutely. But, you know, you never know what’s going to happen with these things.

CALLER: No, you don’t.

RUSH: When you’re talking about a five-and-a-half-year-old child.

CALLER: Yes.

RUSH: There’s nothing fair about this, you say, ‘Why my grandson? How could this possibly happen?’ But you have to realize — and I can tell just by the sound of your voice and the things that you’ve said — there is a tremendous amount of love for him in his whole family, and hope for the best with his prospects. He’s very fortune because whatever life he has is going to be filled with love from you and your family, and don’t ever forget that.

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