Welcome to Our PanCAN PurpleStride Team Fundraising Page!

Our family became quickly acquainted with pancreatic cancer -and the work of PanCAN- last October. A bile-duct-blocking mass that we hoped was just a lifetime of accumulated sawdust was scanned, biopsied, and confirmed to be cancerous. Our ChrisWhitten / Dad / Granddad is now on the road to evicting Lester the Tumor, who we named after the janky animatronic possum from A Goofy Movie. If you know, you know. 

Tackling Lester has been a whole-family adventure, with more than a few setbacks and surprises. But after 9 rounds of chemo this winter and another scan on the horizon, our big wish for surgery feels increasingly possible! We’re grateful for the many warriors who have walked this road before us, paving the way with research to the treatment options we now benefit from. Their efforts - and their sacrifices - created our light of hope in a historically very dark tunnel.

Pancreatic cancer is not an easy diagnosis to receive, and even harder to Google. PanCan’s survivor testimonies were the first finger holds of hope we found in an abyss of dismal statistics. Their research has opened doors that looked like brick walls just a few years ago. That’s why next weekend we’re walking together in the PanCAN PurpleStride event — not just for our family, but for everyone fighting their own Lester.

We’re walking to raise awareness. We’re walking to fund critical research. And we’re walking with hope — that together we can help bring even better treatment options, earlier detection, and a forever cure within reach.

If you’re able, please consider making a donation to support the cause. Every step, every dollar, brings us closer to a world where pancreatic cancer is no longer considered “one of the bad ones.”

Thank you for your support, your love, and for walking this road with us

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!