Holiday Calendar

Blood Cancer Awareness Month

Next celebratedTuesday, September 1, 2026

A U.S. health observance held throughout September recognizing the people affected by leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma and supporting research into blood cancers.

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Last updated February 10, 2026 · by the Holiday Calendar TeamHave an update or spot an error?
YEARLY DATEAll of September
OBSERVED INUnited States
CATEGORYAwareness
SUBCATEGORYCancer
ORIGIN

Legislative Resolution

FOUNDING ENTITY
U.S. House of Representatives (H.Res.1433, 111th Congress)
FIRST OBSERVED
2010
“H.Res.1433 passed the House by voice vote on September 22, 2010, backed by five blood-cancer charities.
HOW THE HOLIDAY CAME TO BE

A House resolution, five charities behind it.

On September 22, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives agreed by voice vote to H.Res.1433, expressing support for designating September 2010 as Blood Cancer Awareness Month. The resolution was sponsored by Rep. Walter B. Jones, Jr. and championed by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society together with four other blood-cancer organizations.

View House Resolution 1433via U.S. Congress
INTRO

The September Cause Built on a Survival Story That Keeps Improving

A leukemia diagnosis in the mid-1970s was, for most people, close to a sentence. Among Americans diagnosed between 1975 and 1977, only about a third lived five years. For those diagnosed between 2014 and 2020, roughly seven in ten do, according to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The five-year survival rate more than doubled across that span. Blood Cancer Awareness Month is the September observance built on that reversal.

The progress is real, and it is uneven. Some blood cancers are now among the most treatable in medicine; others remain stubborn, and the disease still touches a vast number of families. The month exists to hold both truths at once: to mark how far treatment has come, and to keep the attention and the funding pointed at how far it still has to go.

It is an American observance, recognized by Congress and carried forward each year by the charities that pushed for it. What follows is where it came from, what the numbers say now, and how a reader can mark it.

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ORIGINS

Blood Cancer Awareness Month history

INTRODUCTION

"Blood cancer" is not one disease but more than a hundred. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society groups them into three main families, leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, plus related disorders such as MDS and MPNs. That breadth is part of why a whole month, rather than a single day, carries the cause.

For much of the twentieth century, the blood cancers were among the hardest cancers to treat, and the families pushed to the front of the fight against them were often families who had buried someone. The charities they built would later put September on the calendar.

CHAPTER 01

The decades that changed the odds

Their work, with the research and clinical trials it funded, helped move numbers that had barely budged for decades. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society reports that leukemia's five-year relative survival rose from 34 percent for people diagnosed in 1975 to 1977 to 70 percent for those diagnosed in 2014 to 2020. Hodgkin lymphoma climbed from 72 percent to 92 percent over the same span and is now considered one of the most curable forms of cancer.

Federal data tracks the same trend. The National Cancer Institute's SEER program reports that leukemia death rates have been falling, on average, in recent years.

CHAPTER 02

A charity born from a family's loss

One of those charities became central to the month itself. The organization now known as The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society was founded in 1949 and grew into one of the largest funders of blood-cancer research in the world. In August 2025 it rebranded as Blood Cancer United.

Over the decades, the society and its peers built the patient services, the awareness campaigns, and the lobbying that a national observance needs behind it.

CHAPTER 03

September, made official

The formal recognition came in 2010. Rep. Walter B. Jones, Jr. introduced House Resolution 1433 on June 10, 2010, and the U.S. House of Representatives agreed to it by voice vote on September 22, 2010. The resolution expressed support for designating that September as Blood Cancer Awareness Month, and it named five championing organizations, including The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. September has been observed as Blood Cancer Awareness Month since.

TIMELINE

Timeline

The charity is founded

The organization that becomes The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is established, growing into a major funder of blood-cancer research.

A separate global day begins

World Lymphoma Awareness Day is initiated on September 15, distinct from the U.S. month but reflecting the same wider awareness push.

H.Res.1433 introduced

Rep. Walter B. Jones, Jr. introduces House Resolution 1433 on June 10, supporting a September designation.

The House agrees by voice vote

On September 22 the U.S. House agrees to H.Res.1433, recognizing September as Blood Cancer Awareness Month.

Be The Match becomes NMDP

The U.S. marrow and stem-cell donor program tied to blood-cancer treatment rebrands as NMDP.

LLS becomes Blood Cancer United

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the charity behind the month, rebrands as Blood Cancer United on August 28.

WHY THIS DAY MATTERS

Why Blood Cancer Awareness Month Matters

SCALE

Someone in the US is diagnosed about every three minutes.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society estimates that someone in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer about every three minutes. A dedicated month keeps a disease this widespread from fading from public attention.

RESEARCH

Awareness underwrites the progress

The survival gains of recent decades came from research and clinical trials that charities help fund. The month channels attention and donations toward the work that moved the numbers.

DONORS

It points people toward concrete help

Marrow and stem-cell transplants depend on volunteer donors registered through programs such as NMDP. The observance gives organizations a moment to recruit donors and connect patients with support.

BY THE NUMBERS

Blood Cancer Awareness Month by the Numbers

34% to 70%
Leukemia five-year survival, 1975-77 vs 2014-20
72% to 92%
Hodgkin lymphoma five-year survival, 1975-77 vs 2014-20
46% to 77%
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma five-year survival, 1975-77 vs 2014-20
~1.76M
Americans living with or in remission from blood cancer

GOOD TO KNOW

Surprising facts about Blood Cancer Awareness Month

Most leukemias occur in adults, not children

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common childhood cancer, but most leukemias are diagnosed in adults, according to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

A childhood leukemia now sees about 94 percent survival

Five-year survival for acute lymphoblastic leukemia reached roughly 94 percent for children and adolescents under 15 diagnosed in 2014 to 2020, per The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The awareness color is red, the color of blood

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society uses red as the unified color for all blood cancers and lights landmarks red each September in its Turn It Red campaign.

Blood cancer covers more than 100 types

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society describes serving people affected by more than 100 types of blood cancer, far beyond the three best-known families.

A stranger's cells can be the treatment

Marrow and stem-cell transplants from volunteer donors are central to blood-cancer care; NMDP, formerly Be The Match, runs the U.S. donor registry.

GET INVOLVED

How to Observe Blood Cancer Awareness Month

EDITOR'S PICK

Learn what blood cancer actually is

Read about the three main families, leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, from an authoritative source rather than a forwarded post. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, now Blood Cancer United publishes plain-language explanations of each.

JOIN

Join the marrow and stem-cell donor registry

Healthy adults can sign up to be a potential marrow or stem-cell donor through NMDP, formerly Be The Match. Joining is a cheek swab, and a match can be life-saving for a patient.

DONATE

Donate to blood-cancer research

Contributions to recognized charities help fund the trials behind the survival gains of recent decades. Give to an established organization rather than an unverified appeal.

TURN

Turn it red

Red is the unified awareness color for blood cancers, and supporters light buildings and wear red each September. Adding red is a simple, visible way to mark the month.

SUPPORT

Support a patient or survivor

Offer practical help to someone in treatment, a ride, a meal, or simply showing up. Honoring patients and survivors is the heart of the observance.

GET INVOLVED

Resources and Support

AMERICAN

American Cancer Society

American Cancer Society. A 24/7 cancer helpline at 1-800-227-2345 provides information and support any time.

NMDP

NMDP (formerly Be The Match)

NMDP (formerly Be The Match). Runs the U.S. marrow and stem-cell donor registry; join or learn about donation at 1-800-MARROW-2.

Test your knowledge

How well do you know Blood Cancer Awareness Month?

1 / 8

What happened to leukemia's five-year survival rate between the late 1970s and the late 2010s?

Answer

It is observed throughout the entire month of September in the United States.

COLOPHON

Sources

How we know what’s on this page. References, not endorsements.

7sources
7primary records
5independently dated
U.S. Congress2010
H.Res.1433 - 111th Congress (2009-2010): Expressing support for designation of September 2010 as Blood Cancer Awareness Month
The official record of the House resolution recognizing September as Blood Cancer Awareness Month.
View source
U.S. Government Publishing Office2010
H.Res.1433 engrossed bill text (BILLS-111hres1433eh)
The full resolution text, naming the five blood-cancer organizations that championed it.
View source
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (Blood Cancer United)2025
Blood Cancer Facts and Statistics
Diagnosis frequency, prevalence, and the decades-long rise in five-year survival rates for blood cancers.
View source
National Cancer Institute, SEER Program2016-2022
Cancer Stat Facts: Leukemia
Federal cancer statistics tracking leukemia incidence, survival, and the recent decline in leukemia death rates.
View source
Blood Cancer United2025-08-28
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is now Blood Cancer United
The 2025 rebrand announcement, noting the charity's 1949 founding and the 100-plus types of blood cancer.
View source
American Cancer Society
Contact Us
The society's 24/7 cancer helpline and contact details for patients and families.
View source
NMDP
About Us
The U.S. marrow and stem-cell donor program, formerly Be The Match, and how donation works.
View source
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