In the summer of 2015, my father was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer.

I can remember every detail from the day he got the call.

I had just finished my sophomore cruise on a tanker with Military Sealift Command in the Mediterranean. My family and I drove to
St. Augustine, FL to enjoy a few relaxing days at the beach before my sister and I went back to school.

Dad anticipated the call as he had some back pain and had an MRI done as a precaution three days prior.

We were all lounging in the beach condo when his cell phone rang.

It was a mass on his pancreas and it was not benign.

For the first time in my life, I saw my father cry. As he repeated the doctor’s words as she spoke, time stood still. 

“Cancer,” “Whipple surgery”

Tears flooded my face and I grabbed my sister’s hand expecting someone to say “Just kidding, it isn’t cancer.”

My mom stood up, wiped her eyes, and walked to the sliding screen doors overlooking the ocean. Searching for an answer that would never come.

The next two years we battled this monstrous disease that had hold of my father with chemo, radiation and natural remedies.

The whipple surgery removed half his pancreas, and portions of his large and small intestines. 

Today is March 30, 2024. My dad is part of the 5% of the population that gets this and survives, and today he is thriving.

HOW?

To quote one of my favorite authors; Robin Sharma,
“To get the results only 5% of the population has, you have to do what 95% of the population is unwilling to do.”

My father, Michael Wilson Adams, is a warrior. 

He told himself “I want to see both my girls graduate college.” He had cancer, BUT the cancer didn’t have him.

GRIT. PASSION. DRIVE. And the mindset he recently re-enforced in me, “You are an Adams. You don’t quit.”

Before the cancer came, he and my mom were planning that summer to retire and buy a catamaran. Sailing away into the sunset.

While the type of boat changed, the dream did not.
Dr. Doug Evans is the doctor who performed my father’s whipple surgery.
My parent’s boat, a whaleback trawler, is named for the gift from Dr. Evans and God; M/V H'EVAN'S GIFT. My parents' dream turned into a reality.

Goal: Raise $2500

One doctor told my father once that the reason this cancer does not get as much funding is because it’s not popular enough. The cancer that claimed Steve Jobs and Patrick Swayze isn’t popular enough.

Can you imagine someone telling your child that? Your grandfather, niece or mother? Sorry, it’s not in the budget. Your disease isn’t as cool
or hip.

That’s what we sailors call “BULLSHIT”

Join me and let’s make a change!