In April 2020, I was walking around my living room trying to figure out if I was supposed to wear goggles and gloves to go to the grocery store when my Mom called me to share the news I was not prepared to hear. My Dad had been diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer. It made no sense at the time. Just a month prior he was running around keeping up with his grandchildren Chloe, Brett, and Justin while teaching them how to ride a bike just like the active, in shape, youthful 72 going on 35-year-old he always acted like.

With Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer, the average life expectancy after diagnosis is less than 6 months. As tough as the prognosis was, he did not take a minute to process it all, instead, he was determined to beat the odds. He started on treatment immediately with the mindset that he would give it everything he had to keep living as long as he could. 

A few months later we surprised him with a video of family and friends sharing the message “YOU GOT THIS”.  We wore Team Doug purple bracelets (and still do today) to show that as strong and resilient as he was, he wasn’t in this fight alone. This effort even raised awareness and money for PanCan in his name. In my entire life, I’ve never seen him so moved and inspired by the love and support he received during that time. As difficult as the next 11 months would be in his battle against this horrific disease, he never retreated, and he always personified “YOU GOT THIS” every day.

3 years after we learned he had Pancreatic cancer and 2 years since he passed away, we’re walking at the Purple Stride in my Dad’s name. With your help, we can improve early detections and treatments.  When families like ours get the news that their loved one has pancreatic cancer “YOU GOT THIS” means we’ll be in a place where they won’t have to fight as hard as my Dad did. It means it can be stopped it in its tracks before it spreads and if it does spread, they have a better chance to beat it at the later stages.

We’re making huge progress, but need to keep pushing forward. Every contribution counts.

Words cannot adequately express how grateful we are for your support and to have you continue this journey as a member of Team Doug on a mission to beat pancreatic cancer.