In July 2010, my mother, Frances Lewis, received the diagnosis of inoperable pancreatic cancer. In August she began a regiment of chemotherapy and radiation. While she did have surges of energy and some good days, from July to December, her health continued to decline. She began to have blood loss, requiring blood transfusions.
As the cancer began to spread to other organs and after continual blood loss with no hope of any better quality of life, she choose to come home from the hospital with hospice care. My mother died on January 31, 2011, just two weeks after coming home.
After the shock of her loss, I have been learning more about this disease that took her from me. What I have learned is not good.
The month of November is the awareness month for pancreatic cancer and purple is its color. While most cancers (for example: breast cancer) receive huge media boosts for awareness and funding, allowing for better survival statistics because of research and medical advancements in their treatments, pancreatic cancer is lagging far behind all the other cancers. The statistics for the survival rate of pancreatic cancer haven’t changed in nearly 40 years and still remains in the single digits. When a patient receives a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, there is very little hope of survival.
Pancreatic Cancer carries the title of “The Silent Killer” because, while it is attacking a person’s body, the symptoms can be camouflaged under many other illnesses and by the time a diagnosis is finally made, the cancer has already spread to other organs, making it too late for effective treatment. Of the estimated 43,000 people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2010, 37,000 of those have already died, including my mother.
It is estimated that 120 people are diagnosed daily with pancreatic cancer. With early detection and surgery, the survival rates can go up from 3-5 months to 3-5 years, with only a 6% survival rate past 5 years. Yet, as is the case in over 80% of the diagnoses, surgery is not often an option. Chemotherapy and radiation can help in those cases; however the survival rate is still less than 1 year.
So what can be done? More research, more funding, more education, and more awareness are the keys to finding a means of early screening and improved treatments. However, at the moment, pancreatic cancer receives the least funding from the National Cancer Institute. In 2010, NCI’s budget was approximately $5.1 billion. Of that, pancreatic cancer funding was only $97,136,974 or less than 2% of their budget, while breast cancer research received over $600 million.
One of the strongest sponsors of getting more funding for pancreatic cancer research is the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. They have been working for the past 2 years with Congress on the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act (S. 362/H.R. 733).
In a recent article, the wife of Patrick Swayze (a victim of this disease), Niemi Swayze, was quoted as saying:
Unlike other cancers, so many of those afflicted never survive to tell their stories. Niemi Swayze acknowledged as much. “It has been mentioned that a lot of these cancers have seen such incredible progress over the last 20 years or so have done so because they have survivors championing their causes. And a pancreatic cancer can’t boast that kind of alumni … so it is up to us, friends, loved ones.”
(Source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/02/16/cancer.pancreatic/index.html)
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Contact your state Senator and Representatives to request they cosponsor the Pancreatic Cancer Research & Education Act (S.362/H.R. 733).
Donations can be made through the following:
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
1500 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 200
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
877-272-6226
or at:
American Cancer Society
P.O. Box 22718
Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718
800-227-2345
also at
Stand Up To Cancer
File 1224
1801 W. Olympic Boulevard
Pasadena, CA 91199-1224
888-907-8263
http://www.standup2cancer.org/
It’s just a little bit of ribbon, twisted, like my insides, every time I think of losing my mother so quickly to something we had no warning against. But today I wear the purple. Ask me why and I’ll share my story and ask for your support.
Know It! Fight It! End It!
Actions I have taken so far….Join me.
- Contacted Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to see how I can volunteer.
Volunteer meeting, Nashville, October 27th
- Contacted state official to request their support of the Pancreatic Cancer Research & Education Act (S.362/H.R. 733)
Contacted Tennessee State Senator, Lamar Alexander
Contacted Tennessee Congresswoman, Marsha Blackburn
- Contacted local newspaper to request coverage of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness during the month of November
Hickman County Times
- Contacted Sanford regarding producing a purple pen with $.10 of each sale going to pancreatic cancer research (like they have done for the breast cancer research through the development of the Unibal Signo pink ribbon pen)
- Contacted local store regarding displaying my purple quilt during the month of November.
