We lost our brother June 2014. He had just won his long battle with Thyroid cancer. Even with that battle he was probably the healthiest and most health conscientious sibling with his daily lunchtime walks at work downtown, playing basketball in the driveway, his light veggies and rice lunches from home, watching his sugar, his salt, etc and his most laughable exercise, which was using a small trampoline while blow drying his hair, lol, I teased him about that one. He was the second oldest of 6 brothers, I was the baby girl. He and the oldest brother became my father-like siblings after we lost our father when I was 16. We lost out mother to bone cancer when I was 21. I needed these men and their good wives many times in my life and my children came to rely on them too. The oldest is still battling cancer as well. But Larry, surprised us all. None of , not even Larry or his wife, Ruth, my best friend, knew he was sick other than thinking he has a stomach bug. The symptoms did not go away, so he got checked out and there it was cancer in his blood work. They could not see it very clearly in the tests so they took him to surgery, expecting to remove the mass and go from there. I got the most earth shaking phone call while he should have still been in surgery. I don't even recall who it was, but someone phoned to say he was already out of surgery. I asked why? They said they opened him up and say that the cancer was in his pancreas, his liver and stomach. All they could do was close him up and send him home. I felt my body slide to the floor in a puddle of uncontrollable tears. My husband ran to console me knowing it was about my brother and the worst had happened. He was given a choice to do nothing but be kept comfortable, or he could have chemo with a chance at one year on this earth. He was ready to go to eternity, but took the year only because of his youngest daughter. She and her family had moved in with them hearing this news in order to help out. She had one toddler son and just had a baby daughter. It was so important to Larry to have as much time with these children as possible to give, at least the boy whom he developed quite a bond with having had no biological sons of his own, as much memory of their time together as possible. They did just that filling the time he has before the chemo and cancer took him down. They did the things little boys enjoy and the things grandpas like to pass along like gardening. The two were great pals. They planted sunflowers in the spring of 2014 and by June the little boy brought some to lay in the casket with his papa. Yes, June 2014, Larry required hospice care in his home, then was taken to the ER and died at the hospital. His wife and daughter and daughter's family have continued to reside together raising her now 3 children together in the family home. He did not live to see the last granddaughter, who looks so remarkably like his wife, but he had a wonderfully full life in those short 66 yrs. He lived one year longer than our father, who in contrast, smoked for over 50 yrs., ate high fat country cooking, and too much sugar, with little exercise. There are no determining factors in my opinion as far as genetics when it comes to cancer. We have a lot of cancer in my family, but they are different types. Throat, larynx, lung, prostate, bone, pancreatic, skin, brain, and uterine cancers. Photo below: this is Larry, taken by the cancer society.
Review from Guidestar
My brother past away from pancreatic cancer 3yrs ago he was only 59 & it was so sudden & unexpected.he lived in England.So i thought raising some money for my big 60th would be a nice way to help others.Theres not a day that the family dont think of him & wish he was still with us
Review from Guidestar
My father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last September. PanCan has been a tremendous help to our family. They helped us get a second opinion from a top doctor (which changed the course of his treatment), learn about clinical trials in our area, get a molecular profile of his tumor, and referred us to their network of survivors. Speaking to their survivor network gave us a lot of hope and motivation to fight harder.
Review from Guidestar
I have been involved with this organization for the past 5 years and have had the opportunity to work very closely with the organization at a national level. Their leadership is visionary and they are leading the charge against this terrible disease. The recently got the Recalcitrant Cancer Act passed to drive federal funding for the most deadly cancers including pancreatic cancer. Their comprehensive approach will absolutely make a difference in the fight against pancreatic cancer.
This organization was extremely helpful to our family when my brother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in his early thirties. They were a wealth of information to us and a great beacon of hope. When someone receives a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer it almost always comes with a short survival rate. There are a few that are lucky and beat the odds. PanCan does whatever they can to increase the chance of increasing those odds and give patient and caregivers hope. I have since become a volunteer and think the upmost of this organization. Please look up your local affifliate chapter, join in, and do your part to help know it fight it end it! You will be happy that you did! A diagnosis of pancreatic cancer leaves many feeling helpless but it is empowering to actually be able to do something about it! If not for yourself, your loved one, but for the countless others who are impacted by pancreatic cancer. I give this orgnaization an A+ for fighting for us all!
I can't tell you how wonderful this organization is! When I was diagnosed, they did more to help me than even the hospital where I was treated. Don't get me wrong, my surgeon saved my life, but at the Pancan, there was follow up with diet and nutrition, there was opportunity to talk with other survivors, there was a group that talked to my congressman in Washington so all i had to do was call them. In my community there is a very active Chapter working to help people that are facing this disease. I have donated to them since my diagnosis and will continue to do so. PLUS, i looked at the salary that the executives make and it certainly isn't out of line with other charties.
PANCAN spends far too much on fancy salaries esp, for execs. The ratio that goes to research is poor. It is really a fundraising machine where the great bulk of the work is done by folks who are impacted by PC. The org. exploits this very well, modeled on Komen's strategy.
I've been involved with PANCAN in one way or another for close to 4 years now. Originally as a recipient of their support when my Mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, then as a volunteer with the St. Louis affiliate and now as a volunteer with the San Diego affiliate. In that time, I've even had the chance to meet the founder of the organization. Every part of PANCAN with which I've interacted has been top-notch.