Guest column: Raising awareness for pancreatic cancer in November

News Release
November 17, 2024

In October 2024, we were surrounded by pink ribbons as reminders during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. These symbols raise significant awareness and encourage yearly mammograms.

Now it’s November, a month devoted to a different cause with a new color. November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, and its representative color is purple. Sadly, there is no early screening for pancreatic cancer.

I’ve been advocating for pancreatic cancer awareness since October 4, 2007, the day my 38-year-old brother passed away from the disease. Until his diagnosis, just 18 months earlier, I only associated cancer with the pink ribbon, as it hadn’t impacted my family. Due to the lack of early screening, my brother was repeatedly misdiagnosed while his cancer spread.

When someone says, “I don’t know anyone with pancreatic cancer,” I respond, “Until March 2006, I didn’t either.” You never know when it may affect your family; it caught us by surprise, changing our lives forever.

This year alone, pancreatic cancer has claimed the lives of West Virginia Major League Baseball player Doug Creek, “Days of Our Lives” actor and former New York Yankee Drake Hogestyn, and Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Past victims include actor Patrick Swayze, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Apple Founder Steve Jobs, and the “Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin. “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” actress Nana Visitor is now a 16-year pancreatic cancer survivor.

By the end of 2024, an estimated 66,440 Americans will have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and more than 51,750 will have died. It has surpassed breast cancer as the third leading cause of cancer-related death, with 181 people diagnosed daily.

During Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, it would be encouraging to see just half as much purple in November as we see pink in October. Thursday, November 21, is World Pancreatic Cancer Day, sponsored by the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition. Everyone can participate by wearing purple. Let’s turn the world purple for a day!

Since volunteering with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, the 5-year survival rate has risen from 5 percent to 13 percent. However, much more work is needed. We must collaborate with elected officials to increase federal funding for research. Raising awareness starts with small actions, like wearing purple for a day. Learn more about pancreatic cancer by visiting www.pancan.org, and remember to wear purple on Thursday, November 21!