**** UPDATE 8/25/23 **** :  AN ANONYMOUS DONOR HAS STEPPED UP AND WILL BE MATCHING ALL INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM TODAY UNTIL THIS REACHES $5,000.00.  IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING EVEN A SMALL DONATION, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO IT WHEN YOUR CONTRIBUTION WILL BE DOUBLED !

It happened so fast. It had been a normal spring. I had begun to ready the lawn for
summer, spray the crab apple tree, play some early season rounds of golf, and enjoy
the evening walks.
Then, it started with abdominal pain and a perpetual feeling of fullness and being
bloated in early April. I began to notice I would feel full and not want to eat after as little
as a half piece of toast. After a couple ultrasounds revealed a gallstone, between that
and my symptoms, the team of doctors determined gallbladder removal surgery was the
best course of action and I should return to normal after that.
During the gallbladder removal, the surgeon saw something he did not like. That kicked
off a 2 week stay in the hospital culminating in a diagnosis of adenocarcinoma
pancreatic cancer. Surgery is not an option at this point due to the location of the tumor
and that it has wrapped itself around the superior mesenteric vein. Goal is to begin
chemo to shrink the tumor and pull it away from the vein and eventually get to a surgical
option. This all happened so fast going from my normal active life to trying to
understand how to live with and beat pancreatic cancer. This can happen to anyone.
Shortly after diagnosis we discovered PanCAN. It is an amazing organization and the
resource for pancreatic cancer patients and families. 

Below is some information about
PanCAN. We encourage you to help PanCAN in any way you can.
Thank you.
Mark Skup and Family aka The Skuppers

With your support, we’re taking bold action to improve the lives of everyone impacted by pancreatic cancer.

Every dollar you give funds lifechanging programs and services for patients and their families. That means more patients can benefit from PanCAN’s free, one-to-one support and personalized information – resources that can make a real difference in their lives. 

Please make a gift of any size to get my team one step closer to my fundraising goal and help PanCAN to create a world in which all patients with pancreatic cancer will thrive.

Patients and families need us now more than ever.

We are grateful for your generous support.