Change happens all the time. As our bodies grow older, stuff gets weaker and just wears out its warranty.
The owners of the Cleveland Browns, Jimmy and Dee Haslam, recently made a large donation of millions of dollars to Cleveland’s University Hospitals for the sole purpose of cancer research.
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The Haslams are already members of the hospital’s board of directors, a distinction the pair have shared since 2015.
According to the hospital, the new money
will be used for research on blood cancers and the development of drugs pertaining to this issue. The recipient is the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre.
Dee Haslam was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) back in 2021. It is a rare blood cancer that has a slow progression and, for now, does not have a cure. There are a few treatments that are offered, which make the daily grind more manageable, but to date, the disease does not contain a method to make it cease.
CLL begins in B lymphocytes, which live in the bone marrow, and are part of our body’s natural immune system. CLL begins to grow abnormally and can enter the bloodstream. Normally, patients don’t even know they have CLL and can take years before symptoms develop. The problem is that CLL cells can spread to parts of the body such as the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes. This disease is not hereditary.
The disease is diagnosed during a routine blood test. The issue is that there isn’t a cure, only treatments. Because it has a slow progression, sometimes the patient doesn’t even realize that the stage of the disease has grown. Survival rate when diagnosed is 87%, depending on the age of the patient.
The funding that the Haslams have provided is to find a cure and to invent new medicines that will either reduce the effects or eliminate the disease. All throughout history, mankind has been able to develop many vaccines to end deadly diseases such as Scarlett Fever, malaria, Ebola, smallpox, measles, and COVID-19.
Dee Haslam told television station 12 WBOY:
“I am extremely grateful that I am living a full, healthy life after being diagnosed with CLL. This gift to University Hospitals is an investment in research and drug development. We hope to increase knowledge of CLL, generate new treatments, and give others the confidence and information they need to navigate the disease.”
The Haslams have owned the Browns since 2012 and are building a new domed stadium just south of Cleveland in Brook Park.
The duo operates Haslam Sports Group, which owns the Columbus Crew of MLS, Columbus Crew2, which competes in the MLS Next Pro league, is a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA, is the owner of the new Columbus expansion team in the National Women’s Soccer League, which will begin play in 2028, and is the owner of the Browns.
