Welcome to Our PanCAN PurpleStride Team Fundraising Page!

We are raising money in honor of: 

Russell Putnam & Katherine Choquette 

Russell was a Korean War Veteran and 3x Purple Heart recipient who passed from pancreatic cancer in January of 2008, only three months after his diagnosis. 

Katherine was an award winning teacher who dedicated her life to growing the minds of her students. Her pancreatic cancer was caught in 2008 after a routine scan to check her diverticulitis. She fought hard but lost her battle in January of 2011.

Our team is named in honor of Russell, my Grampy. He would say 'Hello Gorgeous' to any person he came across. It didn't matter if it was family, friends, the pizza man, or a telemarketer on the other end of the phone. The first words out of his mouth were 'Hello Gorgeous!' Even at the end when he was in pain, he would smile and say 'hello gorgeous' to me when I walked into his room. I even have it tattooed on my left arm (closest to the heart) in his honor

Our team wants to make the biggest impact on the lives of pancreatic cancer patients ? and we need you to do it!

We?re taking steps at the ultimate walk to end pancreatic cancer, PanCAN PurpleStride, on Saturday, April 26, 2026.

PurpleStride participants raise money to fund vital research that can bring new treatment options to patients; free, personalized, one-to-one support through PanCAN Patient Services; and more.

Want to help in a bigger way? We?d love for you to join our team! Just click the Register button at the top of this page to get started. Register for free, raise $100 and you?ll receive an official PanCAN PurpleStride 2026 T-shirt!

Let?s show everyone impacted by pancreatic cancer that we?re fighting for them ? thank you for your support!