Pancreatic Cancer – It Makes Headlines, Now It Hits Home

This looks like a harmless abstract painting. Or a satellite photograph of the Great Lakes, It’s not.  It’s Pancreatic Cancer. Pancreatic is a malignant tumor of the pancreas Each year about 37,680 individuals in the the United States are diagnosed with this condition, and 34,290 die from the disease. In Europe, more than 60,000 are diagnosed each year. Depending on the extent of the tumor at the time of diagnosis, the prognosis is generally regarded as poor, with <5% of those diagnosed still alive five years after diagnosis, and complete remission is still extremely rare. Recent headlines about Patrick Swayze have brought this particular cancer back to the forefront of the public’s awareness. Patrick seems to be beating the odds at the moment, which is a blessing for him and his family. I personally always liked the guy and he never seem to play the Hollywood hunk role and always seemed humble in interviews. And the guy had every reason to be cocky, I mean he is in great shape and can dance and he makes women swoon. I once read an article where he was asked what his greatest fear was. His answer: If anything bad ever happened to my wife. Here’s wishing Patrick Swayze a speedy recovery.  Those are the headlines.

This is where it hits home for me. A very close friend of mine lost a friend of his to Pancreatic Cancer two months ago.  I can only imagine his pain, but I can almost feel it every time I talk about it with him.  I had my usual Sunday night phone call with Dad, the kind we have very week, the kind I look forward to. No matter how old you get, it’s still good to check in with Dad.  But Dad and I are getting older. And sometimes those conversations turn to the news one does not want to hear – the death of an old family friend, a sick relative. In my case, my stepmother’s friend was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer.  I know this woman and she is a wonderful woman with a great spirit. She has a wonderful husband and grown daughter.  She is young and vibrant and kind. She is special. And now she is in the fight of her life. 

Patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer typically have a poor prognosis partly because the cancer usually causes no symptoms early on, leading to locally advanced or metastatic (spreading) disease at time of diagnosis. Median survival from diagnosis is around 3 to 6 months; 5-year survival is much less than 5%. With 37,170 cases diagnosed in the United States in 2007, and 33,700 deaths, pancreatic cancer has one of the highest fatality rates of all cancers and is the fourth highest cancer killer in the United States among both men and women. Although it accounts for only 2.5% of new cases, pancreatic cancer is responsible for 6% of cancer deaths each year. I don’t like any one of those numbers. Here are some more numbers I don’t particularly like.The National Cancer Institute’s cancer research budget was $4.824 billion in 2004, an estimated $52.7 million of which was devoted to pancreatic cancer.Research spending per pancreatic cancer patient is $1145, the lowest of any leading cancer. The lowest of any leading cancer, the lowest spending for the most deadly. I sit here tonight with a heavy heart knowing there is nothing I can do but pray, and write my congressman demanding more research dollars for cancer, particularly the most insidious forms like pancreatic cancer. I once again repeat my mantra that the nations of the world should form a Manhattan Project for Cancer, setting the goal of finding a cure or a treatment in 10 years. We have sent men to the moon when we we challenged ourselves. We managed to build an Atomic Bomb and develop weapons of mass destruction by gathering the best and brightest. Why can’t we do this for cancer.  In the meantime, check out this website and donate if you can Pancreatic Cancer Action Network National  http://www.pancan.org/

Pray for my friend PS, who lost his friend to this cancer and really grieves his loss. Pray for GSH who is now facing this battle. And above all, pray for a cure. If we can build bombs and send up space stations, we have to have some minds available who can wrap their heads around this.  Acceptance is always a chore for me. I feel like if there is a mountain, we should climb it, if there is a problem, we should solve it, it their is a disease, we should cure it, if there is a war, we should stop it.  But what do I know.  I am a writer. I am powerless. I can just spread the word. Someday, and I hope it is soon, we will all have the collective will to eradicate this disease. Let us begin today