Howard's story is probably similar to many others who are shocked to find themselves diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer.

In July of 2023, Howard and I were sitting at an outdoor cafe in Balboa Park waiting for the Old Globe theater to open.  Suddenly, he was overcome with severe pain in his abdomen. Needless to say, we never attended the performance at the theater but headed to the emergency room at Scripps. A CT scan revealed the pain was caused by pancreatitis and showed a dark shadowing in his pancreas. Three weeks later, after the pancreatitis subsided, a second CT scan and PeT scan explained the dark shadowing; it was a large tumor in the pancreas.

Next steps involved blood work and a biopsy.  Our worst fear was realized, he had pancreatic cancer. Needless to say, we were in disbelief. We were lucky, even though the tumor was large, it was discovered at an early stage. We had no idea where this journey would take us and where to start. A friend recommended we contact PanCan to calm our fears, give us direction with references and steer us on the right path. 

February 14, 2024, Howard completed his treatments of chemotherapy and radiation.  His wonderful team of doctors from Scripps consulted and coordinated the protocol. Moving forward to the present, he has now had 4 post-treatment CT scans.  The scans have shown no metastasis and the original tumor is undetectable!

However, we know pancreatic cancer is insidious; it can come back. In the past year, several more friends have been diagnosed with this awful disease.  That's why we are taking steps at the ultimate walk to end pancreatic cancer, PanCAN PurpleStride, on Saturday, April 26, 2025.

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.

Here’s where you come in! 

We’ve set an ambitious fundraising goal – because the more money we raise, the bigger impact we make – and would be profoundly grateful for your donation. A gift of any size will help patients and families facing a pancreatic cancer diagnosis.  

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 $50 and you’ll receive an official PanCAN PurpleStride 2025 T-shirt!

We must make an impacted to find a cure as well as more treatments to fight pancreatic cancer – thank you for your support!     Cheryl and Howard