AbbVie, the National Park Foundation (NPF) and CLL Society are working together to immerse people with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in the beauty of community and the great outdoors with a new “Time For Treks” campaign.
Kicking off Oct. 17, the organizations will host a free blood cancer community walk at Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego, California. The event is welcome to people with CLL, caregivers and supporters and focuses on fostering outdoor experiences and connections within the community.
“Because every person's experience with CLL is different, every trek can look different, too,” CLL Society reminded potential trekkers on its LinkedIn page, encouraging visitors to “choose the route and pace that feels right for you.”
The campaign stems from AbbVie’s deep understanding of the CLL patient community, “not just as patients, but as people,” senior director of patient advocacy, oncology portfolio Christine Armstrong explained in an interview with Fierce. According to Armstrong, one activity that has come up “time and time again” in discussions with patients is a love of the outdoors and hiking with friends and family.
“Time For Treks” naturally came to life when the company pondered how it could continue to “really meet patients where they are,” Armstrong said. The initiative’s name signifies the moments during a patient’s treatment journey where they get a chance to step away and perhaps engage in a nature-based activity.
“The campaign itself, it was really co-created with patients,” Armstrong said.
One patient whose insights helped form the program is Alejandro, an environmental engineer with CLL who was featured in AbbVie’s 2025 short film “Second Winds.” The documentary saw CLL patients Alejandro, Christina and Jeff sharing their individual stories and staying active through activities such as hiking, biking and more. Alejandro’s input was “reminiscent of many other patients’ insights about loving to be outdoors,” Armstrong noted.
AbbVie and the National Park Foundation have plans to expand the initiative to other national parks in the future, as both align on a mission to “encourage people to get out” and plan treks within their own communities or local parks.
Between the joint priorities of the National Park Foundation, AbbVie, the CLL society and the patient community, “I think that this is that kind of perfect synergized campaign,” Armstrong said.
At the launch on Oct. 17, AbbVie will leverage its educational website on navigating and managing CLL, which contains information on treatment options and approaches as well as other tips and resources for living with CLL.
AbbVie has been supporting CLL patients through its Johnson & Johnson-partnered BTK inhibitor Imbruvica since its initial 2013 approval and its Genentech-partnered BCL-2 inhibitor Venclexta, which first hit the market in 2016.
In 2024, the company dug into the emotional experience of a CLL diagnosis with a survey that was the first to break down the results by race/ethnicity to highlight the differing mental health impacts and desired support resources.