That’s how my friend titled an email to me Monday night, after hearing the news that Patrick Swayze lost his two-year fight against the disease. This just a day after my parents put on their big fundraiser to support research into early-detection tests and a cure.

Nobody Puts Pancreatic Cancer in the CornerThe event was a huge success. Well over 200 people walked the short route in perfect weather. Of course, it wasn’t the walking that was the point. It was the community and the fundraising. How much fundraising? By the end of the morning Sunday, the event had raised over $41,000 (USD) for the Lustgarten Foundation for pancreatic cancer research. And we’re still accepting donations (hint).

Nobody Puts Pancreatic Cancer in the CornerMy cousin Bonnie spoke before the walk began. She recently had a prophylactic pancreatectomy (translation: she had her pancreas removed before it was cancerous). After five years participating in the same study my dad’s a part of, doctors agreed her pancreas wasn’t looking good. She lives now as a diabetic; she looks and feels terrific.

One woman on the organizing committee had pancreatic cancer twenty-six years ago. She’s in great health, and she’s pretty awesome.

Nobody Puts Pancreatic Cancer in the CornerStill. The overwhelming majority of walkers were there because they’ve lost a loved one, a friend or a colleague. One woman, whose husband was recently diagnosed, asked my mom, “So many people are wearing cards in memory of someone, not in honour. Does anyone survive?”

It’s not an easy question to answer. The answer itself is easy; it’s just not easy to say.

At the end of the event, on a high from the successes, I ran into an old high-school acquaintance. There are few people from my adolescence I’d be happy to randomly bump into, but she’s one of them. She looks just like she did fifteen years ago. Except it’s her dad who was recently diagnosed. I wish I’d bumped into her at a bar so we just could’ve had a pint and caught up. Instead, we skipped the small talk and went right into the thick of it – radiation treatments and prognoses. Her dad is a journalist, and he’s writing a blog about his daily life.

I’m so proud of my family and the community they’re a part of in the hometown I so often deride. There’s much work left to do, but they call it the Walk of Hope for good reason. My own spirits are bolstered, and it just feels good to face my fears with action.

Thank you. Thank you all so very much for your support in words and donations. You’ll hear from me about this again next year.

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7 responses to “Nobody Puts Pancreatic Cancer in the Corner”

  1. iknitalone Avatar
    iknitalone

    So glad it was such a success. You put it so well “The answer itself is easy; it’s just not easy to say.” Hopefully with research it will change.

  2. Sara Avatar

    I didn't realize they did prophylactic removal. Interesting. Looks like the walk was a huge success and how wonderful it must have felt to be part of it.

  3. Kim Werker Avatar

    It's certainly not a preferred surgery. I doubt they would have considered it had she not had such regular screenings, and therefore a lot of information about what the normal state of her pancreas was before it started to change. Living as an insulin-dependent diabetic is no small change!

    Yes, it was wonderful to be there. :)

  4. Kimsmom Avatar
    Kimsmom

    UPDATE: AS OF 9/17, WE RAISED 45,378.01. AND MORE DONATIONS ARE STILL COMING IN!

  5. Kimsmom Avatar
    Kimsmom

    UPDATE: AS OF 9/17, WE RAISED 45,378.01. AND MORE DONATIONS ARE STILL COMING IN!

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