Purple Stride Indianapolis

I will be participating in a 5K family run/walk in Indianapolis on June 25th to create awareness and raise funds that will help make further strides in research for pancreatic cancer.  I have become passionate about this not just because of my diagnosis but I have learned how underfunded this cause is.  There are ideas being put forth by some awesome doctors but the testing and trials are not going anywhere because funding is not sufficient to get them off the ground.  This has proved frustrating to me.  To create awareness, I'm listing some information regarding PC.

*Pancreatic cancer is the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the 4th leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

*Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all the major cancers: 94% of patients die within five years of diagnosis and only 6% survive more than five years. 75% of patients with pancreatic cancer die within the first year of diagnosis.

*Unlike many other cancers, the survival rate for the disease has not improved substantially in nearly 40 years. Since 1975, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer has improved only from 3% to 6%. In fact, pancreatic cancer is the only one of the top 10 cancer killers that still has a five-year survival rate in the single digits.

*It is estimated that 43,140 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2010 and that 36,800 will die from the disease.

*The number of new pancreatic cancer cases and the number of deaths caused by the disease are increasing – not decreasing. In fact, the expected number of new pancreatic cancer cases is projected to increase by 55% between the years 2010 and 2030.

There are no ways to screen for this cancer.  80% of the time, by the time you are diagnosed, the cancer has already spread which usually alleviates you from the option of having surgery to remove a single tumor.  The truth is more money is being poured into the research for other cancers at a higher per patient rate because they see more hope there.  It feels like we are getting left behind.  My passionate plea and hope is that one day, being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer is not a death sentence.

I would appreciate your support in one of two ways.  Please consider making a donation to this cause through my website that's been set up for me.  The other way to help is to join me in the walk and be a part of my team.  Please let me know if you'd like to walk and I'll help get you set up.  My personal donation webpage is http://PanCAN.kintera.org/psindy11/merimee.