Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from everyone at the Lustgarten Foundation.  Hope you can join us for our annual walk on November 6th!  Helps us beat pancreatic cancer and make some new friends at the same time!

Is Your Office a Halloween Candy Dumping Ground?

Three Tips to Avoid Halloween Horror at Work

WASHINGTON, DC If your workplace turns into an all-you-can-eat Halloween candy buffet before and after October 31, those little "bite size" treats could end up being a nasty trick for your health, experts at the American Institute for Cancer Research warned today.

"Research has confirmed what many of us know all too well: When food is available and in sight, we eat it," says AICR Registered Dietitian Alice Bender. "That candy in the break room and on coworkers' desks before and after Halloween means extra calories and weight gain for many Americans."
The scary truth is that being overweight or obese increases risk for several common cancers and other diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

Although "fun-size" candies seem innocent enough by themselves, eating just two of those candies per day over two months can lead to a two-pound weight gain, coming just before our major eating holidays.

Bender says there are ways to reduce temptation and minimize the resulting calorie damage from constant exposure to candy. Start by limiting trick-or-treat candy in your home, then take steps to help create a healthier work environment for yourself and others.

Tips to Avoid Halloween Horror at Work

1. Lose Your Candy at the Door. This is one time your colleagues are better off if you don't share. Best idea – be honest with yourself and purchase only the amount of candy you'll need. If you do have leftovers, throw them out – does anyone else really need it?
2. Hide the Candy. Donate a non-see-through, covered candy dish or container for common spaces where candy is shared. Studies show that keeping treats out of sight helps keep them out-of-mind, out-of-mouth, and off-the-waistline.
3. Take Detours. If possible, find alternate routes to meetings that avoid passing by the treats. As a side benefit you may get a bit more physical activity. Not possible? Make sure your hands are full when passing the candy dish, so you can't just grab a treat on the way.

What's your team's name?

It's time to register for the Denver Walk.

The incredible support of friends like you has helped grow the Walk Series to a major force in the fight against pancreatic cancer. Through 2010, the Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk Series has raised more than $12.7 million! Please join us at The Denver Walk, and help us build on this success.

Once registered, you will receive a Starter Kit in the mail. The Kit contains materials you need to reach your fundraising goal. Our on-line registration site also provides information on how you can create your own personalized fundraising Web Page, send e-mails to your personal contacts, track donations and send thank-you emails to your walk supporters.

Volunteer at the Walk

Volunteers are among our greatest assets: from venue selection to cheering participants across the finish line, we rely on volunteers to help organize, manage and implement every aspect of our Walks. Simply stated, volunteers make it happen!

100% of donations will go directly to pancreatic cancer research. Cablevision Systems Corporation underwrites all of The Lustgarten Foundation's administrative expenses to ensure that 100% of every donation goes directly to pancreatic cancer research.

1200 miles for Pancreatic Cancer

Morgan Hanna started running to support her Grandfather in his fight against pancreatic cancer.  Unfortunately, we learned through her Facebook page that her Grandfather lost his battle this evening.  


"The greatest person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing passed away today. My grandpa fought his battle for a year and 6 months, and as he said, 'I did it my way.' I'm so proud to call him my grandpa. His funeral is Saturday, November 6 and I would love to have 600 likes by then! Please share my page, and thank you all for the support."

Too many of us understand the heart break she is experiencing right now.  But her story is too inspiration not to share.  She is a teenager who went to war against cancer, and when her Grandfather passed tonight, she was only 15 miles from reaching her 1200 goal.  She should be very proud and I know her dedication and passion inspires us all to continue the fight.  

Morgan’s Story

Morgan Hanna a Senior this next year at Kuna High School in Kuna, Idaho is running 1200 miles for pancreatic cancer in honor of her grandfather who has been diagnosed with this disease. Morgan is also involved in her high school spirit squad as a cheerleader and competes on an all star cheer squad,” Idaho Cheer University.” Morgan Hanna is truly an all star in everything she does. She began running in February of 2010, she finds running as a personal challenge and loves the way she feels after a really great run. Morgan’s heroes are her two sisters, Skylar and Heather, Skylar currently is working at an orphanage in Thailand and Heather has shown Morgan what hard work and determination can do for you. Morgan states “The whole reason I started running was because my Grandpa has pancreatic cancer, and I wanted to do something to make a difference, even though it may not be the biggest thing.”


We are thrilled to support Morgan in her desire to honor her Grandpa, Richard Hanna, and help fight pancreatic cancer. If you would also like to support Morgan in her endeavor you can make a pledge for Morgan. Please contact Rhonda@pancreaticcancerfoundation.com to make a pledge or pledge online through our donate button, just add into the notes that your donation is a pledge for Morgan Hanna’s 1200 mile run.


To learn more about Morgan and her mission, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/1200-miles-for-Pancreatic-Cancer/119656841417799

Jackson teens hold haunted trail to benefit pancreatic cancer research

JACKSON — A group of Jackson Memorial High School students hope to scare visitors into donating money to fight cancer at their Halloween haunted trail this weekend.

The Country Oaks Massacre team — organized by Eric Mika, 17, and Chris Merwin, 16 — hope their “Scream for a Cure” horror trail off Anita Drive will raise money for the Lustgarten Foundation, which funds pancreatic cancer research.

Mika was a freshman in high school when his father George “Marty” Mika was diagnosed with cancer.

“He battled pancreatic cancer for a year and passed away on Valentine’s Day” of 2010, said Mika. “He always loved Halloween, and I guess that’s why I love Halloween.”

Friends Adam Woolverton, 17, and Mike Okulewicz, 17, both of Jackson, joined Merwin and Mika on Wednesday outside of Mika’s Anita Drive home, where they prepared the trail for opening night.

The acre-sized, walk-through trail includes an electric chair, toxic-waste swamp, graveyard, decaying skeleton under glass, and a maze of tight corners and dark doorways.

The group began working on the trail June 12, designing each scene, constructing building facades, and researching special effects.

Near the beginning of the trail, which meanders through the woods behind Mika’s home, a bridge crosses the scene of a toxic waste dump with spilled sludge drums. Black lights give an eerie glow at night to the soupy sludge, which uses fabric softener as its glowing ingredient.

Carefully placed lights are designed to add depth to building facades or draw the eye to an ominous silhouette.

“We like to disorient people and play with their minds,” Merwin said.

Though Merwin and Mika have operated the trail for three years, the death of Mika’s father inspired the two last year to use their talents for cancer research. When they decided to use the trail as a fundraiser in 2010, the trail raised about $800 for the Lustgarten Foundation, they said.

“Me and Eric (Mika) really enjoy Halloween,” said Merwin. “We eat, sleep, breath Halloween. That’s what we do.”


Merwin said he has spent about $2,000 on lumber, nails and other supplies this year, and has accepted gifts of fake coffins and other Halloween paraphernalia to create the scenes.

The fruits of their labor show, overtaking the front, side and backyards of Mika’s home. Storing all the supplies becomes a challenge each year, especially as the trail grows larger.

“It gets so much bigger every year, we have to start months in advance,” said Merwin. “It’s a never-ending process.

“We actually have a contract with Eric’s (Mika) mom that we have to have it cleaned up by the seventh (of November), which is not going to happen,” he added.

“As long as it all comes down, she likes it,” said Mika. “My mom didn’t want us to do a trail the first year…(but now) she loves it.”

Mika and Merwin hope to surpass last year’s donations, and have expanded the event to run for four days with the help of nearly 20 friends.

“We just want to have as many people come and raise as much money as we can,” said Merwin. “And we enjoy so much of what we do. Just us being able to do it is worth it.”

http://www.app.com/article/20111027/NJNEWS/310270109/Scream-cure?odyssey=nav|head

Life and laughter: Pineville teacher's cancer diagnosis doesn't dim outlook on life

PINEVILLE, La. — Pineville High School English teacher John Neal has worked across the hall from French teacher Terri Juneau for a number of years.

Every day, he said, he would pop into Juneau's room and say, "See you tomorrow." And, every day, Juneau's response was "God willing."

Her nook of the languages department has been empty for the past several weeks.
Juneau, 54, was recently diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic Cancer.

Juneau has been a teacher for 30 years — the first five at Holy Savior Menard Central High School and past 25 at Pineville High School. She has taught thousands of students in her career, but she was more than a teacher to many.

"Some of the things she does — she tells little stories about her personal life," Neal said. "She tells students what they need to hear, and it's not always about French. It may be about the way they conduct themselves."
Neal said the news of Juneau's diagnosis shook the school, as Juneau isn't the type of teacher who sits in her class and teaches her subject. She relates to everybody.

"A lot of people were trying to figure out a way to do something to help," Neal said.
They came up with a Halloween-themed fun run from which the proceeds will go toward Juneau's medical expenses.

The Rebel Run Super Spooky 5k will be held Oct. 29 at Pineville High School.

Everyone is encouraged to attend the run in costume, a nod to Juneau's ever-present sense of humor.

"Both of my parents died within a year of each other," Neal said. "I know it sounds bad, but Terri would tell me, 'Oh, you're joining the Orphan Club.' It made me laugh, and made me feel like I wasn't alone."
Since the diagnosis, Juneau's popularity on Facebook increased tenfold. Her friends list already was packed with former students and co-workers, but when word began to spread, more and more people began to reach out to her.

Juneau's Facebook posts detail the ordeal — chemotherapy, doctor's appointments, the cost of medication — but the posts are decidedly un-weepy.

Most of them are funny, and all of them prove Juneau has not and will not give up.
Prior to the diagnosis, Juneau had been having stomach pains, which were diagnosed as pancreatitis. The prescribed medication offered no relief.

"She was supposed to have surgery on a Tuesday here in town," said Stephen Rosenwinkle, Juneau's long-time friend and roommate. "Her nephew called M.D. Anderson (in Houston) and basically refused to get off the phone until they scheduled an appointment."

It was in Houston that Juneau learned the cause of the stomach pain — a tumor on her pancreas, which had wrapped around a vein.

Rosenwinkle said the news shocked Juneau, who is otherwise healthy.

After the diagnosis, Juneau did something that only she would do. She named the tumor "Petey."
She's undergoing chemotherapy treatments in Alexandria, and she goes back in late November to see if Petey has gotten smaller, Rosenwinkle said.

"She always told me that you'd rather be dealing with your own issues than with someone else's because it could be worse," said Noelle Nolan, a Pineville graduate who worked at Pier 1 Imports with Juneau. "She just kind of has a way of putting things into a realistic perspective while making it funny at the same time. Because she sees humor in something, it allows others to see the humor, too."

Juneau took a part-time job at Pier 1 about seven years ago. Though Nolan moved on to a full-time position elsewhere, she continued to go back to Pier 1 for holiday work for the sole purpose of working with Juneau.
"She's one of those people that just lives her life so well and sees the humor in everything," Nolan said, "I mean, she named (the tumor). Everything is an adventure to her, whether it's doing inventory at Pier 1 or traveling. Everything is an experience, and I think there's something admirable about that."

Juneau's bout with Cancer is no different.

There's a photo album on Facebook titled "Giving Petey the Heave Ho," as well as albums containing photographs from her numerous trips to France with her students.

While reminiscing about Pier 1, Nolan was reminded of the time Juneau acquired "thumb polio."

"She was lifting something from the loft, and somehow she developed 'thumb polio,'" Nolan said. "There have been so many things that happened (at Pier 1) that I think about and just laugh and laugh and laugh at."
Former students Katie Moore of Baton Rouge and Jason Tudor of New Orleans have maintained Friendships with Juneau throughout their adult lives.

Moore and Tudor are close friends, and they took a high school trip to France together with Juneau and students in French I and II.

Theirs is a friendship based mostly on frivolity, with shining moments of sincere warmth and compassion.

"When she told me she hated the words 'creamy' and 'frothy' I knew we'd be lifelong friends," Tudor quipped.

"She's smarter than everyone else," Moore said. "She's sarcastic and mean and witty, all in the best way possible. She's hilarious. I can always talk to her about how dumb boys are, and she agrees. She's kind of unflappable. You can't really shock her. And she has really good handwriting."

Moore acknowledges those comments may seem strange to people who don't know Juneau. But, to those who do know her, the words are a perfect summation.

Rosenwinkle met Juneau after moving to Alexandria from Colorado.

"One of the things I noticed right off the bat was that people would start coming up to her and talking to her," he said. "In my life I've never had love shown toward me, and she's this person that gives that to everyone.

She makes an impact on people's lives, and that goes beyond being just a teacher that somebody had in high school. Now, with this fun run, I think it's time for people to go show her that."

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/7231db22e45b43c4b4bf4ae2400320f1/LA--Teacher-Cancer-Humor/

Surgery vs. alternative medicine to battle cancer

Updated: Wednesday, 26 Oct 2011, 3:49 PM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 26 Oct 2011, 3:49 PM EDT

• Jocelyn Maminta

New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs chose alternative therapies to battle cancer.
Jobs chose alternative therapies to battle a neuro-endocrine tumor that started in the pancreas. Surgery is generally recommended, but he delayed that procedure.

Dr. Howard Hochster specializes in gastro-intestinal cancers at Yale Cancer Center.
Dr. Hochster said, "If it's confined to the pancreas, or very localized, then it's removed surgically wherever in the body these tumors arise, a nice percentage of them are curable with surgery alone."

Jobs lived 8 years after his diagnosis.
In Jobs' biography that went on sale Monday, the writer says he tried non-traditional methods.

"I would not necessarily discourage people from taking them, but I don't think they can be used as therapy per say," said Dr. Hochster. "Unfortunately, with these alternative therapies, they are just not cancer treatments, that's why they are alternative, because they have been tried generally for many years, many decades, many centuries sometimes, but we can't show that they actually are therapeutically beneficial in any responsible medical clinical trial."

Dr. Hochster points out cancer treatments are similar to alternative practices in that many are derived from Mother Nature.

"One of the things about cancer treatments is that we get a lot of drugs through plants and many of them started out as plant extracts. The chemotherapy drug Taxol is a good example, it comes from the bark of Yew trees," explained Dr. Hochster.

Maryann Scinto has pancreatic cancer and is undergoing chemo. She chose the targeted therapy program offered at Yale that began with surgery.

"These spots that they found in August were so minute and then the scan beginning in October show them dormant, so this stuff is doing its job," said Scinto.

There are a number of clinical trials at Yale involving new molecular therapies that Dr. Hochster says are designed to help patients live the best for the longest time period possible.

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/health/surgery-vs.-alternative-medicine-to-battle-cancer

Pancreatic Cancer Drug Completes Trial, Drug Discovery & Development - October 19, 2011

Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. updated its development program for IPI-926, including completing enrollment of its Phase 2 trial  in patients with previously untreated pancreatic cancer.

IPI-926 is a novel, oral, small molecule that inhibits Smoothened, a key component of the Hedgehog pathway. In preclinical models of pancreatic cancer, the Hedgehog pathway signals from the tumor to the surrounding environment to create a thick, fibrous tissue that provides support for tumor growth and prevents chemotherapy from reaching the tumor effectively. Inhibiting Smoothened with IPI-926 may represent a new approach to treating pancreatic cancer by depleting the fibrous tissue and facilitating the delivery of chemotherapy to the tumor.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 122 randomized patients is designed to compare IPI-926 in combination with gemcitabine (also known as Gemzar) to treatment with placebo and gemcitabine. Infinity initiated this Phase 2 trial in February 2011, with the primary endpoint being overall survival.

“IPI-926 as part of combination therapy may represent a new approach to treating pancreatic cancer by inhibiting the Hedgehog pathway and potentially improving delivery of chemotherapy to the tumor,” says Charles Fuchs, MD, MPH, director, Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Clinical trials evaluating possible new treatments for pancreatic cancer, like this study with IPI-926, will hopefully lead to advances with the potential to improve survival for patients.”

In June 2011, researchers presented data from a Phase 1b trial evaluating once daily, oral administration of IPI-926 at escalating doses in combination with the standard dose of gemcitabine administered intravenously once weekly for three weeks with one week of rest in previously untreated patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. A partial response was observed in five of the 16 patients, for a 31% response rate. The historic overall response rate to gemcitabine is less than 10%. Infinity continues to follow patients still enrolled in the trial and intends to report additional data from the Phase 1b trial at a future medical meeting.
“We look forward to obtaining the results from the ongoing trial in pancreatic cancer, which will inform our Phase 3 development plans,” states Pedro Santabárbara, MD, PhD, chief medical officer at Infinity. “Beyond pancreatic cancer, we are focused on advancing IPI-926 in Phase 2 trials in myelofibrosis and chondrosarcoma, as well as exploring a range of indications through investigator sponsored trials.”

Release Date: Oct. 17, 2011
Source: Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

http://www.dddmag.com/Pancreatic-Cancer-Drug-Completes-Trial-101911.aspx

Losing Steve Jobs to a Taboo Cancer

Watching Steve Jobs waste away from cancer was tragic for all the reasons expressed by President Obama, Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates and millions of Apple fans online and in moving, impromptu tributes at Apple stores.

One more reason losing Steve Jobs was painful for me personally: He was cut down in the prime of life by pancreatic cancer, which killed my father at 63, despite his finishing four marathons, and my friend's husband at 57, and will mercilessly snuff out 37,000 of the 44,000 Americans diagnosed this year, leaving shell-shocked families behind.

"I didn't even know what a pancreas was," Steve Jobs said in his Stanford commencement address, referring to the day he was diagnosed with his tumor.

To this day, pancreatic cancer remains shrouded in dread and mystery, as it was when Michael Landon went on the "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" in 1991 and reluctantly named his silent killer, the largely-inoperable cancer that typically offers no symptoms until stage IV. Pancreatic cancer continues its reign of terror as the taboo cancer, mentioned in hushed tones and with a shaking of the head, as CNN's Sanjay Gupta demonstrated the night Steve Jobs died, grimly repeating the American Cancer Society statistics: 20 percent of patients survive one year after detection. Only 4 percent of patients survive five years.

We were met with the same hopeless shaking in 1997 when we sought experts to help my father. "It's an insidious disease," one doctor tsk-tsked, ushering us out of his office with no offer of surgery or treatment to give my father a fighting chance. The doctor didn't say it, no one wanted to say it, but the unspoken message was "go home and die."
Even Steve Job's immense resources were powerless to beat this form of cancer. Even the cutting-edge work of Nobel laureate Dr. Ralph Steinman, who died of pancreatic cancer three days before the prize was awarded, couldn't save him. Amazingly, Dr. Steinman used a new vaccine against cancer, which he was in the midst of developing, to try and fight his own tumor.
It didn't work. But it can, in the future.
Research doctors like Ralph Steinman, who demonstrate the revolutionary vision that Steve Jobs is hailed for, need more support. Pancreatic cancer continues to be a death sentence partly because it is the least funded of all cancers: Of the five leading cancer killers, pancreatic cancer receives the last amount of federal funding, according to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. And it's not a rare disease: It's the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. Recently, Patrick Swayze, Randy Pausch and Luciano Pavarotti succumbed to it.

Where there is money, however, there is progress toward early detection, treatment and a cure. Dr. Christine Iacobuzio-Donahue made national headlines in 2010, with fellow doctors at Johns Hopkins (and England's Sanger Institute), for a breakthrough toward early detection. The George Rubis Endowment, founded in memory of my father, was credited as a supporter of the study. My family's annual grassroots fundraiser, Run for George, which has raised $420,000 to date, has directly supported Dr. Iacobuzio-Donahue's efforts over the last seven years.

I'll be honest: When touring Dr. Iacobuzio-Donahue's lab at Johns Hopkins, I didn't imagine that such leaps toward understanding pancreatic cancer would be made in my lifetime. When we received news of her breakthrough, we knew: Fundraising works. Pancreatic cancer need not rob us of loved ones, need not to be a scourge on our children's generation. Just a few decades ago, breast, prostate and colon cancers must have seemed so scary and so daunting. There is reason to be optimistic.
There is also far to go.

I hope that the grief over losing Steve Jobs will transform into activism, as it did when Marc Lustgarten, an executive of Cablevision, died in 1998. Cablevision helped establish The Lustgarten Foundation to defeat pancreatic cancer: It has become the largest private foundation dedicated solely to funding pancreatic cancer research, with $38 million going to research to date. The foundation has also launched curePC, a public service campaign to raise awareness, featuring Danny Aiello, William Hurt, Jai Pausch and Matthew Modine, all of whom have lost loved ones to pancreatic cancer.

Last year at Run for George we raffled off an iPad to raise research dollars. How else to excite the crowds? This year on Nov. 20th, we'll raffle off an iPad2. This one's for you, Steve.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anastasia-rubis/steve-jobs-pancreatic-cancer_b_1029621.html

Progress made in the fight against pancreatic cancer, says Mercy doc

By Christopher Gaul Special to The Review

Pancreatic cancer, the disease that recently claimed the lives of Apple founder Steve Jobs and Pep Perrella, good and faithful friend of the archdiocese, and which has stricken Archbishop Spalding football coach Mike Whittles and WBAL talk show host Ron Smith, remains a killer un-caged by modern medicine.

“It’s a real challenge,” said Dr. Sanjay Jagannath, who leads Mercy Medical Center’s pancreatic programs in the Institute for Digestive Health and Liver Disease.

Difficult to diagnose because of a lack of easily recognizable symptoms, pancreatic cancer is often discovered too late to treat it effectively because the cancer has spread with lethal results, Dr. Jagannath explained.

(The pancreas is a gland, situated near the stomach that secretes a digestive fluid into the intestine through one or more ducts and also secretes the hormone insulin.)

Dr. Jagannath said, however, that there is “some hope” for early diagnosis because Mercy, along with some other major medical centers, like Johns Hopkins, have begun to focus on the pancreatic cyst as a way of stopping one of the most deadly cancers from forming, he said. Up to 20 percent of pancreatic cancer begins as one of these small, fluid-filled brown lesions.

Left to grow unabated, pancreatic cancer kills 95 percent of sufferers within five years, more men than women for some unknown reason. There are about 43,000 cases a year nationwide, compared to more than 200,000 cases each of breast, prostate and lung cancer.

The goal, Jagannath said, “is to approach pancreatic cysts the same way we do for polyps in the colon – remove them and prevent cancer.”

Mercy physicians are now using endoscopic ultrasound imaging as what Jagannath called “a good screening test” for the pancreatic cysts.

Unlike colonoscopies, though, which are regularly given to middle-aged and older men as a matter of course, endoscopic ultrasound examinations searching for pancreatic cysts aren’t available in the same way to the majority of patients. That is the case, Jagannath said, primarily because most health insurance won’t cover the procedures and because there may not be a compelling reason for most patients or their primary physicians to call for them in the first place.

And, he said, it is difficult to determine who may be at risk other than those with a close family history of pancreatic cancer.

“For 80 percent of people who get it, it’s just dumb luck,” Jagannath noted wryly.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology found that up to 13 percent of the population has a pancreatic cyst, though most do not become cancerous. Researchers studied patients who had undergone an MRI for a reason other than their pancreas, and such routine screening for other health concerns has become the main method of discovering pancreatic cysts.

While the identification of pancreatic cysts and their removal before any cancer can spread is a promising diagnosis and treatment modality, the battle against the killer, although making progress, is far from over.

“There’s a lot of work, study and research going on and I’m sure we’ll beat it in my lifetime,” said the 42-year-old pancreas specialist, a conviction which suggests that effective prevention, let alone a “cure,” is not exactly just around the corner.

That being said, provocatively hopeful research is indeed underway.

Hopkins researchers, for example, are conducting a trial, now in its early stage, for a vaccine that might eventually become an effective tool in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

And, according to a report in the Irish medical magazine, Scope, University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center researchers, led by an Irish physician, Dr. Peter O’Dwyer, not only found that an experimental antibody caused pancreatic tumours to shrink significantly in a small cohort of patients, they also believe their findings – and the novel way in which they uncovered them – could lead to quicker, less expensive cancer drug development.

Until now, it was assumed that the immune system needed to attack the cancer cells directly in order to be effective, however, this new research revealed that so-called CD40 antibodies could trigger the patient’s own immune system into shredding the structural “scaffolding” that holds tumours together.

“So, there really is some promising stuff happening out there,” Jagannath said. “And, yes, I do really have hope.”

Oct 20, 2011
http://www.catholicreview.org/subpages/PaperSpecSection.aspx?action=10806

Congratulations Denver!

We've already raised over $31,000 and we're still a week away from the walk!!  WOOO HOOO!!  A big thank you for all of those who have contributed!  We can't wait until Nov 6.  Let's make it a record breaking year!!

Halloween Family Time in Colorado

When you have cancer or someone in your life with cancer, the holidays seem to take on deeper meaning ... even days like Halloween.  If you are looking for a new way to celebrate the holiday or just want to get out, here are a few suggestions around the area.

  

http://denverkids.com/seasonal/

Anderson Farms Fall Festival
Sept 24 - Oct 31, hours vary see details


Colorado's Longest-Running Corn Maze! Here are just some of the many fun things to do: Hayride to the Pumpkin Patch, Animal Acres, Corn Maze, Pumpkin Launching, Barnyard 500 Pedal Karts, Barrel Train, Farm Animals, Kiddie Korral, World's Largest Cornucopia.


Mile High Farms

Mile High Farms is the newest fall destination for fun, festivities, and new family traditions. Our approach is simple; plant with imagination, water with fun, grow something special -- Farmer Dale's genius method of course. Attractions include an adventurous corn maze full of activities, a pumpkin patch, tractor hayrides, petting zoo, stage performances, and an imaginative fall festival town. There are so many creative seeds waiting to sprout that Farmer Dale has secretly planted this year! We look forward to sharing our farm with you and your family this opening year! Visit our site often for more details and join us on Facebook to see what else Farmer Dale has up his sleeve.


Wild West Maze & Fall on the Farm
Sept 30 - Oct 31, hours vary see details

The Wild West Maze invites you to be part of the second annual Corn Maze, Pick Your Own Pumpkin Patch and Fall on the Farm celebration near Hudson, Colorado. The 35-acre corn maze is composed of more than 5 different wild west mazes. Buffalo, outlaws, running horses, covered wagons, cactus and boots are just the beginning of your adventure through the 8 mile Wild West Maze!


Rock Creek Farm
Sept 24 - Oct 31, 9 am - 6 pm daily

Join us for fall family fun activities at one of the largest and most entertaining Halloween attractions in northern Colorado, admission is always free. We have over 100 acres of U-Pick-Em pumpkin fields for you to explore and find the perfect pumpkins. Pumpkins aren't where the fun stops, take a horse drawn hay ride, try our hay bale maze or get lost in the winding paths of over 8 miles of Corn Mazes. Visit with our pigs, goats, ponies, donkeys, chickens and other farm animals. Enjoy our selection of fall festive treats and decorations such as gourds, indian corn, caramel apples, baked goods, straw bales and more.


Amazing Maze and Pumpkin Patch
Sept 30 - Oct 31, 10 am - 7 pm

Come enjoy the Southeast Metro area "Amazing Maze and Pumpkin Patch". Conveniently located in Parker. Fun for the whole family during the day and experience our professionally created "Haunted Monster Maze" on Fri and Sat night. Romp through the 600' long "SnakeTunnel" or the hay bale maze for the little guys. Check out the petting zoo, the bounce houses and pumpkins of all sizes, shapes and colors. Children 12 and under get free pumpkin. Call 303-805-1038 or click on Details to visit website.


Eltich Gardens Fright Fest - Family By Day, Fright By Night
Oct 1 - 31, 2011

Celebrate Halloween in Denver with four haunted houses, six live shows and kids treats at Elitch Garden. For the Family we have: Face Your Fears: Kids are invited to face their fears; from spiders, to bats, to other "traditional" monsters. Ghouls Match: Kids will compete through various Halloween themed challenges and activities. Gross Out for Kids: Join the Hip HopSicals in an icky interactive Halloween face-off! White Noise: Park guests will experience EVP (Electronic voice phenomena) and watch in amazement as "real" ghosts appear in the palm of their hand. Trick or Treat Trail: On Saturdays and Sundays from noon-5pm, little ghouls and goblins can trick or treat their way around Startoon Studios!


Bootown Halloween Fun
Weekends in October from 11 am to 7pm

Bootown Halloween Fun hosts Colorado's first and largest bi-level 3-D maze full of colorful and festive enchantment. Bootown is the place for children of all ages and family entertainment! On top of the adventure-filled 3-D Maze, take a walk through the huge pumpkin patch or pumpkin painting area. With FREE parking and affordable Halloween fun, Heritage Square is the place to be this October!


Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum's Hauntings at the Hangar
Sunday, October 30th Noon to 4p.m.

Wings Over the Rockies is hosting its annual Hauntings at the Hangar Halloween event. Come join for a boorific good time! There will be your favorite characters from Star Wars, Star Trek, Star Gate, comic books, and movies! There will also be games, activities, and LOTS of candy to get you all hyped up! Oh, and don't forget the always popular costume parade! Normal admission rates apply. Museum Members, as always, are FREE!


Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield's Corn Maze
September 9th - October 30th

Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Sept. 9 through Oct. 30 at our Chatfield location. Navigate the twists and turns of the newly designed cornfield this fall at Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield's Corn Maze. This year's theme is Native Roots | Modern Form, a tribute to the Allan Houser exhibit currently showcased throughout the Gardens on York Street.


Halloween Kids Fest
October 29th & 30th

Join Sharkey and his friends for a fun day of games, crafts and activities! Not So Haunted Train Ride (10am - 4pm), Guess the Weight of the Giant Pumpkin, Monster Mural Coloring, Mad Science Experiments, Pumpkin Patch Painting and Contest, Costume Contest. Kids in costume receive half price admission on 10/29, 10/30 & 10/31 with the purchase of an adult admission. Call for details - (303) 561-4450


Discover Halloween! for Tricks, Treats and a Halloween Movie, Oct 31 from 3 pm - 9 pm

Discover Learning is hosting FREE Halloween fun for kids and teens from 3pm to 9pm on October 31st. For younger kids: Meet a live tarantula and make a spider hat! Decorate and eat Halloween cookies! Come in costume and enter our raffle to win fabulous door prizes! Teens: Don't egg and toilet paper your neighbor's house - come do ours instead! Bring your friends from 5-7pm to enter our Egg and TP Contest. Then stay for Scary Movie Night from 7-9pm. Get your fill of snacks and candy at our place and leave trick-or-treating to the kids. The entire day of Halloween is absolutely free to everyone!


Children's Museum of Denver Trick or Treat Street
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, October 29th-31st; 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Don your favorite costume and parade from one treat house to the next collecting goodies, whip up delicious "Dirty Desserts" and craft classic Halloween creatures. And don't miss the outdoor fun. Try your luck in the Monster Carnival, ride Vern's Mini Train and stroll through Pumpkin Hill. Activities are included with Museum admission. Free parking for members. Nonmember parking is $5.


Murder in the Haunted Mansion

Three slightly-scary and very fun interactive mystery shows where YOU and the Ghost of Leopold Adams solve his own murder!
Saturday, October 22nd - 1:00pm - 2:30pm - $10 per person
Saturday, October 29th - 10:30am - 12:00 noon - $10 per person
1:00pm - 2:30pm - $10 per person


Little Monkey Bizness Westminster
October 28th - 31st

Little Monkey Bizness Westminster would like to invite you to join with us for a weekend of Halloween fun. We will have a costume contest on Friday October 28th from 5-8pm. Also Saturday - Monday come in your costume and play for $5. Candy will be handed out over the weekend. We look forward to seeing you for our spook-tacular event.


Halloween Events
Oct. 29 - Nov. 1


Pumpkin Decorating - Saturday, October 29th
Join us as we decorate pumpkins for Halloween in WOW!'s Art Room! Pumpkins and art materials are available while supplies last. Included with Museum admission!


Halloween Crafts - Sunday, October 30th
Create a fun and spooky Halloween themed craft in WOW!'s Art Room. All Halloween crafts are included with Museum admission!


Dia de los Muertos Event - Tuesday, November 1st
Learn about the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos and view a community ofrenda (alter) in English and Spanish. Crafts for children also available while supplies last. All Dia de los Muertos activities are included with Museum admission!


The Wildlife Experience Trick-or-Treat OFF The Street
Saturday & Sunday, October 29 & 30 10am - 4pm

Creep, crawl or slither into Trick-or-Treat OFF the Street, a Halloween celebration with plenty of ghoulish surprises for children of all ages. This event features a variety of activities including creepy crawly crafts, ghost stories and a haunted graveyard. In honor of the greatest Halloween tradition, more than 15 candy booths will line the museum's hallways, allowing guests to fill up their bags with candy and spooky toys in a safe, fun environment regardless of weather conditions.


Fall Pumpkin Patch at Cottonwood Farm
September 24th - October 31st

Pumpkin Patch, small corn maze, straw bale maze, farm animals. Fall produce for sale; pumpkins, squash, decorative gourds, Indian corn, straw bales, honey. Free admission. Come in and look around, enjoy our mazes - perfect for young families. Buy what you wish.


A Northern Colorado Corn Maze

A large Pumpkin Patch spread out over acres and acres. Seasonal Decorations for sale, Kids Activities all day long, Pedal Cars/Mini Maze, Miniature Horses & Petting Zoo, Scavenger Hunt and Prizes, Enormous Pumpkin Catapult, Pumpkin and Corn Chuckers, Inflatable Jumping Air Attractions, Playground/Swing sets and other activities. At dusk when the sun goes down all the creatures come out searching for their victims. The Corn Maze transforms into a haunted place full of monsters and creatures searching for souls to take. As you wonder aimlessly throughout, the moon is the only source of light to guide you down paths of darkness. Be prepared to be afraid...very afraid! We are open October 1st-31st. Our hours are Thursday & Sunday 10am-10pm, Friday & Saturday 10am-Midnight


Haunted Laser Tag
October 8th - 31st

In a fusion of laser tag and haunted houses, navigate the terror of an ancient Egyptian temple armed with only a laser tag phaser. Find traditional haunted house scares, as well as the laser tag shootouts you would expect from Northern Colorado's most intense laser tag experience. Assume the role of a treasure hunter sent to recover a lost artifact, prove yourself in the Warrior's Arena against rival treasure hunters, navigate the dark corridors of the inner tombs and defeat the Ancient Pharoah. Thursday 7-10pm $10, Friday & Saturday 7pm-Midnight $12 ($10 for groups of 10+), Sunday 7-10pm $12 ($10 for groups of 10+). We've been running haunted laser tag for a few weeks now and the kids love it! It's definitely a blast for ages 10+ although the younger they are, the scarier it is. For children 8-10 it may be a little overwhelming but they're usually OK if their parents go through with them. I wouldn't recommend it for children under 8 years old.


10th Annual Halloween Family Fun Festival in Downtown Loveland

In its 10th year, the Loveland Museum/Gallery is celebrating the annual Halloween Family Fun Festival, while downtown businesses celebrate the annual Downtown Trick-or-Treating. Join us in Peters Park, next to the Museum/Gallery on Saturday, October 29 from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM for this fun-filled community event, with downtown trick-or-treating running simultaneously.


Halloween Haunting at Zuma's
October 28th and 29th

Spend October 28th and 29th with Zuma's! Haunted House, Haunted Hay Ride, Trick or Treating, Face Painting. Don't Miss this Fun Event! Sponsorships Available. Have your company sponsor the event for $2,000 and get the entire place open for you and your company for a Thursday night in October. Vendor slots available at $125 per weekend.


Kids Halloween Town

Trick or Treating! Face Painting! Hay Rides! Pick a Pumpkin! Pumpkin Painting! Bouncy Castle! Colorful, Fun and Friendly Halloween Town Characters! And Much, Much more!


Halloween Events at Fun City

Hallowayne!
Saturday, Oct 29, 7pm-close
FREE! Come help us celebrate two spooky events on the eve of October 29th--Halloween and the birthday of Fun City owner, Wayne Merritt! Door Prizes, Costume Contest with prizes for the TOP 3 costumes! Come out for a night that's sure to be fun for kids of all ages!


Halloween Spooktacular
October 27th

Ages: 3-6 years. Calling all ghosts and goblins! Join us for a "spooktacular" time at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center. Be sure to wear your costume and join in our parade. There will be plenty of games and activities too! 1 class. Maximum: 20. Instructor: Beth June. Location: WR Recreation Center, 4005 Kipling St. Fee: $8 R, $8 NR. Day: TH. Time: 9:30-10:30A. Date: 10/27. Code: 321100-01

Patrick Swayze's Widow Recreates Dirty Dancing Scene With His Wax Statue

 

The time of their lives.

Patrick Swayze lost his battle with pancreatic cancer over two years ago -- and on Tuesday, a wax replica of the star's most iconic role was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in Hollywood.
PHOTOS: Remembering Patrick Swayze

His widow, Lisa Niemi, was on hand for the unveiling of the wax twin, depicting Swayze's sexy scene in the 1987 film, in which his dance-instructor character, Johnny balances on a log and seduces hotel guest Baby (Jennifer Grey).

Niemi, 55, joined her late husband's wax doppelganger on the log and posed for photos to recreate the iconic movie moment.

Swayze, 57 when he died on Sept. 14 in 2009, was married to Niemi for 34 years.
Niemi told Access Hollywood she was impressed with the Tussauds' artists work.

PHOTOS: Stars who have battled cancer
"He had this kind of mischievous, but confident look ... and things like his core (were) very, very strong and they worked on his arms more, so it's very detailed," she said. "There's a lot of work that goes into this."

PHOTOS: Other celebs' wax twins
"In a way, it's really wonderful and exciting and everyone's in such a good mood here, and it's gonna be so fun to have this figure in the museum here, and at the same time it's bittersweet," she said. "I wish he were here, really here."

http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/patrick-swayzes-widow-recreates-dirty-dancing-scene-with-his-wax-statue-20112010

Have you registered yet?

It's time to register for the Denver Walk.

The incredible support of friends like you has helped grow the Walk Series to a major force in the fight against pancreatic cancer. Through 2010, the Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk Series has raised more than $12.7 million! Please join us at The Denver Walk, and help us build on this success.

Once registered, you will receive a Starter Kit in the mail. The Kit contains materials you need to reach your fundraising goal. Our on-line registration site also provides information on how you can create your own personalized fundraising Web Page, send e-mails to your personal contacts, track donations and send thank-you emails to your walk supporters.

Volunteer at the Walk

Volunteers are among our greatest assets: from venue selection to cheering participants across the finish line, we rely on volunteers to help organize, manage and implement every aspect of our Walks. Simply stated, volunteers make it happen!

100% of donations will go directly to pancreatic cancer research. Cablevision Systems Corporation underwrites all of The Lustgarten Foundation's administrative expenses to ensure that 100% of every donation goes directly to pancreatic cancer research.

Time for Timer: Quick Breakfast

Having a good breakfast is very important to maintaining your strength through chemo and other treatments. 

Who is Lustgarten? Get informed.

Lustgarten's Mission

To advance the scientific and medical research related to the diagnosis, treatment, cure and prevention of pancreatic cancer by:

• Increasing funding and support of research into the biological mechanisms and clinical strategies related to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of pancreatic cancer;
• Facilitating and enhancing the dialogue among members of the medical and scientific communities about basic and clinical research efforts that relate to pancreatic cancer;
• Heightening public awareness of pancreatic cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prevention and providing informational support for pancreatic cancer patients, their families, and friends.  

Death, I do not fear you; I am just not ready to go. Radio host and columnist Ron Smith writes about his cancer diagnosis

Ron Smith

11:56 a.m. EDT, October 20, 2011

About 20 years ago, I went to a urologist for a prostate exam and PSA test. When the blood work was in, he said the levels were virtually nil, and then he said something I've never forgotten: "Fate has something else in store for you."

I have ever since wondered from time to time what that something would turn out to be — and now I know. A week ago, as many of you know, I was diagnosed with inoperable, stage fourpancreatic cancer.

It's inoperable but treatable with chemotherapy. I got the news from Johns Hopkins cancer surgeon Dr. John Cameron after he looked at my CT scan results and the reading of the pictures by a radiologist.

My first question was whether this was worth fighting. After all, I've heard the stories about advanced pancreatic cancer and wouldn't have been shocked if he said it was time to go home, put my affairs together and undergo pain management therapy until the disease killed me.

The doc said, "Yes, it's worth fighting. With the new chemicals and chemo regimens, there's every reason to fight it." Some hope appeared, and who doesn't cling to hope? What really concerned me was pain and quality of life, which are closely intertwined.

Doctor Cameron and my dear friend Dr. Bill Howard were in agreement that once the chemo began, I would not be tormented by cancer pain, though of course the treatments have certain bothersome side effects.

I was also told there is no reason not to keep working through the time left to me, information that was very important to me. It was a wild weekend after the diagnosis, one highlighted by a wave of love and support from my wife, children and many, many friends.

I made the decision to tell my radio listeners what was going on first thing Monday morning. Monday was a stressful day, as you might imagine. I have been blessed with a tidal wave of well-wishes and love from the people who have listened to me over the many years of the Ron Smith Show.

In the hundreds of email messages to me this week were many that related similar experiences the writers or their loved ones have coped with.

I am blessed in so many ways, among the most important of which is to have discovered how much my work has mattered to all sorts of people, even those not inclined to agree with my political and social views.

How humbling it has been to learn how much I've meant to other people in my business, to be told of the positive impact I've had on them. I really didn't fully understand that, so what a blessing it is to learn of that while I'm still among the living.

My editor here at the Baltimore Sun, Michael Cross-Barnet, asked me the other day if I wanted to continue my column. I said I certainly do, if you'll continue to give me the space. As I told my listeners Monday, I will continue to host my WBAL program, though on a reduced schedule due to the treatments.

My thanks to WBAL management, in particular to General Manager Ed Kiernan, for the support they have offered. I will host as many of my shows as I can, because I love what I do and won't give up until I'm unable to continue. There's no way right now to even guess when that might be.

Tuesday, my wife, June, who among her many talents is being a published poet, wrote a poem summarizing our situation perfectly:

"Yet"

"Death, do not yet boast.

I will not come to you

yet. I will stay with the

army of family and friends

surrounding me who

resist you with all their

might and cherish every

moment of life.

"You will come soon,

just not yet. I do not

fear you. I am just

not ready to go."

Ron Smith's column appears on Fridays. His email is rsmith@wbal.com.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-smith-cancer-20111020,0,1071592.column

Are you walking this year?

It's time to register for the Denver Walk.

The incredible support of friends like you has helped grow the Walk Series to a major force in the fight against pancreatic cancer. Through 2010, the Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk Series has raised more than $12.7 million! Please join us at The Denver Walk, and help us build on this success.

Once registered, you will receive a Starter Kit in the mail. The Kit contains materials you need to reach your fundraising goal. Our on-line registration site also provides information on how you can create your own personalized fundraising Web Page, send e-mails to your personal contacts, track donations and send thank-you emails to your walk supporters.

Volunteer at the Walk

Volunteers are among our greatest assets: from venue selection to cheering participants across the finish line, we rely on volunteers to help organize, manage and implement every aspect of our Walks. Simply stated, volunteers make it happen!

100% of donations will go directly to pancreatic cancer research. Cablevision Systems Corporation underwrites all of The Lustgarten Foundation's administrative expenses to ensure that 100% of every donation goes directly to pancreatic cancer research.

Great Local Press for Our Cause

A big thank you to CBS4 for helping us get the word out.  Hear why this walk is so important to us and why we need to find a cure!!

Let's beat pancreatic cancer! Volunteer to help!

Are you or someone in your family struggling with pancreatic cancer?  

Do you want to get involved and help fight this awful disease?  

Join the team of Coloradans running the Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Walk. It's an annual event started by the Phillips Family that's held at Sloan's Lake each November.  

While there is a dedicated team, we can always use more help!!  Not only would you be supporting a great cause, but you'll also have the opportunity to others whose lives have been touched by pancreatic cancer.  We're one community fighting for a cure.

What to volunteer?  Email us at: rphill1126@yahoo.com or kimphillips14@gmail.com

‘SUP’ers make waves in cancer fight

                     

Two friends lead fight against two less-funded types of deadly cancer

BY SCOTT PAGE Gulf Breeze News scott@gulfbreezenews.com

October has become a month during which wearing pink has become a popular choice, contradictory to traditional fashion advice.

The movement has not been a trend generated by the fashion industry but by millions of people joining together to fight cancer – specifically breast cancer.

Local friends, Heather Kelly and Cindi Bonner, had their pink tanktops on last Saturday, Oct. 8 at the inaugural Paddle For A Cure, but in support of two other deadly forms of cancer, pancreatic and colorectal, for which purple and brown are the official colors.

“We just love pink,” Kelly said, when asked if they were planning a merger with the “Save the Tatas” movement.

Over 90 people showed up to paddle in the Relay For Life-like event, helping raise over $16,000 for local pancreatic and colon cancer patients. Not too bad for an event that Bonner and Kelly organized in just six weeks.
“It was awesome,” said Bonner, who is the owner of Fitness On Board, which hosted the event in Little Sabine Bay. “We have been talking about doing something like this for about a year, and six weeks ago we said, ‘Let’s just do it.’

“It was our first fundraiser and we are definitely going to make it an annual event.”

Both Bonner and Kelly have seen family and friends affected by these two deadly forms of cancer.

Kelly’s father, Bobby DePew, battled pancreatic cancer before passing away nine years ago. The family made the horrifying discovery that many others do when dealing with pancreatic and colon cancer – there is very little available funding and treatment.
Colorectal and pancreatic cancer have two of the top five death rates among cancers in the U.S. Unfortunately, the two are the leastsupported of the top five killers in terms of National Cancer Institute funding.

The latest NCI statistics show that U.S. mortality rates for 14 of the 19 most deadly cancers are declining. For cancers such as pancreatic, however, there are still no reliable screening tests or effective treatments and death rates continue to rise.

That’s why Paddle For A Cure partnered with the Sacred Heart Foundation in Pensacola to direct the money raised to those who need it most.

“My dad was lucky enough to have good health insurance,” Kelly explained, “but there was not a lot of local treatment available.

“He had to go to Baylor University (Tex.) to receive treatment, and a lot of people would not be able to afford that. We wanted to provide them with some funds to hopefully make it possible to receive treatment.”
Still, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer, which recently claimed the life of Apple Co- Founder Steve Jobs, is 6 percent, compared to 90 percent for some forms of breast and prostate cancer.
Dr. Leo Villegas, a general surgeon who specializes liver, pancreas and bile duct surgery, recently joined the medical staff at the Sacred Heart Cancer Center.

Sacred Heart Foundation Director Bambi Provost said the conjunction of Dr. Villegas’ arrival and Paddle For A Cure’s donation will be “an incredible match” that will bless local cancer patients.

“We don’t yet know exactly how the money will be used,” Provost said, “but we are very grateful for their contribution.”

Kelly described her father as a man who was very outgoing and always willing to go out of his way to help others. “He would be very proud of us for putting this event together,” she said.

Paddle For A Cure is without doubt a fitting tribute to his memory.

http://www.gulfbreezenews.com/news/2011-10-20/Island_News/SUPers_make_waves_in_cancer_fight.html

You can help make a difference and help save lives

We're only a few weeks out!!

Help us raise money for much needed pancreatic cancer research!  Join us in Denver for the 2011 Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk is Sunday, November 6 at Sloan's Lake Park.  

Find out more at: http://www.kintera.org/site/c.ckLQKbOZLkK2E/b.7468185/k.BEBE/Home.htm

Cancer patient inspired by Steve Jobs

USA Assoc. VP fights pancreatic cancer

Updated: Wednesday, 19 Oct 2011, 5:30 PM CDT
Published : Wednesday, 19 Oct 2011, 5:30 PM CDT

• Lenise Ligon
• Photojournalist: Robert Brown

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The passing of Steve Jobs has brought pancreatic cancer to the forefront but for people living with the disease, the battle has always been ongoing.

Joan Exline is the Associate Vice President at the University of South Alabama. She is responsible for maintaining the university's accreditation. Exline was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July, 2011. Like most people who hear the words “you have cancer,” she remembers the day well.

“Oh, very clearly. He said, 'We think that you have pancreatic cancer,' and it was quite a shock," Exline recalled.

Exline had no family history of pancreatic cancer but kept experiencing stomach pains. She went in for a check up and that’s when the cancer was discovered. She said her first reaction was denial. Now, she sees the disease as a battle that she has no intention of losing.

There has been a considerable amount of research indicating that positive thinking makes a significant difference on cancer patients’ survival rates. Exline agrees and maintains her faith by visualizing a game of Pacman during her chemotherapy treatments.

"Pacman is eating the cancer cells while I have chemo," Exline explains.

Early detection and treatment are key to surviving pancreatic cancer, but finding it is easier said than done. Dr. William Taylor, Mitchell Cancer Institute Oncologist, said the reason is that it doesn’t present itself like other illnesses.

"It's not like skin cancer where you can see it or breast cancer where you can feel a lump. It's deep in the stomach, so it gives it a considerable amount of time to grow before it really causes symptoms or any other problems."

Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms & Signs:

• Stomach pain
• Weight loss
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Jaundice

Doctors say currently, surgery is the only curative treatment for pancreatic cancer, but only 20 percent of people are eligible. Researchers at the Mitchell Cancer Institute are looking for better solutions.
"We are not just focusing on the cancer cells but also the environment around the cells ... We are trying to understand how the tumor cells become tumor cells and what is the function and consequence of that interaction," said Dr. Ajay Singh.
The hope is to find out how the cancer functions and what makes it so aggressive so doctors can better tailor therapy medicine for patients. Cancer is very smart. Dr. Singh says he has to be smarter. It's a race against a clock.

Meanwhile, Joan continues her treatment, a combination therapy of radiation and chemotherapy. She hasn't missed a day of work and maintains a positive attitude. Exline said she prefers to take a page from Steve Jobs, who worked as the CEO of Apple until the very end, despite his cancer.
"The lesson that he taught me is that while you are alive, contribute and make everyday count, and that's what I am trying to do here,” she said.

The life expectancy of a pancreatic cancer patient is normally eight months or less. The next phase planned in Dr. Singh's research is clinical trials with animals, then people. It's a long process. Cancer is not simple. The results won't be known for 10-15 years.

To learn more about the Mitchell Cancer Institute, click here .
For more general information on pancreatic cancer click here .

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/mobile_county/cancer-patient-inspired-by-steve-jobs

Only a few weeks until the Denver Walk. Volunteers needed!

Are you or someone in your family struggling with pancreatic cancer?  

Do you want to get involved and help fight this awful disease?  

Join the team of Coloradans running the Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Walk. It's an annual event started by the Phillips Family that's held at Sloan's Lake each November.  

While there is a dedicated team, we can always use more help!!  Not only would you be supporting a great cause, but you'll also have the opportunity to others whose lives have been touched by pancreatic cancer.  We're one community fighting for a cure.

What to volunteer?  Email us at: rphill1126@yahoo.com or kimphillips14@gmail.com

We've raised $28,000 so far

And the walk is still a few weeks away!  Thank you to everyone who is supporting our cause.  


And if you haven't registered yet, there's still time!  


Just visit http://2011denverwalk.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=491347 and sign up today.  

Denver, CO

Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Pre-Registration Fee $50

Walk-In Registration Fee $60

Registration 9:00 am

Walk starts at 10:30 am

Join us on Sunday, November 6, 2011 at Sloan's Lake Park, Denver, CO. Pancreatic Cancer Research Events are a great way to increase funding for research and raise awareness for pancreatic cancer. Lustgarten Foundation Events serve as a wonderful celebration of the progress being made in the fight against this disease, and your important participation provides hope for the future.