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2022 PANCAN IMPACT REPORT
Postcards of Progress
your incredible impact, coast to coast
Dear Friends,
Picture a pancreatic cancer patient, unsure of where to go to connect with others in their shoes. Or how to get free, personalized information about the disease, and where to access biomarker testing that could lead to better treatment options.
Picture their doctor saying, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing more I can do.”
Picture a pancreatic cancer researcher working on a breakthrough, with only a handful of others doing the same.
This was what the pancreatic cancer landscape looked like before 1999, when PanCAN was formed.
Now, picture a group of passionate and determined people joining together — rolling up their sleeves, ready to help navigate and drive faster and further in the race to beat pancreatic cancer. Asking, “What can I do? How can I help?”
Pamela Acosta Marquardt, our founder, was one of them. Pam jumped in the driver’s seat with likeminded people who were asking the same questions.
And now, more people than ever (you included!) are working passionately to fuel this unstoppable movement. And you’re not slowing down, as you’ll see in our 2022 PanCAN Impact Report, where supporters across the country are pressing the accelerator on progress in a big way.
And they’ve written postcards of progress to share with you!
There’s Dr. Sunil Hingorani in Nebraska, who’s dedicated his life to pancreatic cancer research. JB Jaso in Southern California, who’s volunteering and advocating in memory of his best friend. Gail Coleman in Virginia, who funds research to keep the legacies of her husband and parents alive. And so many more with inspiring stories to share.
There’s a long way to go before we end pancreatic cancer, but we’ll get there sooner with you behind the wheel. We saw the pancreatic cancer survival rate move to 11% this year — important progress on the road to our goal of doubling survival by 2030.
Thank you for speeding with us toward a world where pancreatic cancer patients thrive!
Moving forward,
Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA
President and CEO
P.S. The patient you pictured with nowhere to turn? Thanks to you, PanCAN Patient Services has given help and hope to over 200,000 people. And that researcher you pictured, working alone? Because of you, there are over 200 PanCAN donor-funded scientists nationwide, all working toward the breakthrough that changes everything. THANK YOU!
You’re Paving
the Way for Progress in the Lab
Your Research Investment
You helped PanCAN invest a record-breaking $25 million in research this year, benefiting our grants program, PanCAN Precision PromiseSM and the PanCAN Early Detection Initiative.
Since 2003, you’ve funded 234 grants for 213 scientists at 79 institutions, for a total of $174 million!
This year, you helped award 16 new research grants and 9 extensions to support next steps of promising projects, for a record $10.5 million!
PanCAN published 6 papers in peer-reviewed biomedical journals and presented 7 posters at major conferences this year.
For every $1 you invested in PanCAN grant recipients from 2003 to 2019, they went on to receive an average of $11.50 in subsequent funding to support their research.
Dear PanCAN supporter,
When I cared for my first pancreatic cancer patient, I knew the prognosis was grim. But I was hopeful. That patient was my father. He died less than a year later. I’ve devoted my life to pancreas cancer patients and clinical research. A 2005 PanCAN Career Development Award funded by donors like you launched my career at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. With that funding, I got my first lab going. That first grant set me up to get additional funding from the NCI. It supported the development of the first genetically engineered mouse model of pancreatic cancer, which helps us study the disease. It influences my work today at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. I’ve received other PanCAN grants and I have you to thank for that. You are paving the way for progress in the lab.
Gratefully,
Sunil Hingorani, MD, PhD
Together
We’ll Get to a Brighter Future Faster
PanCAN Early Detection Initiative
Thanks to you, nearly 2,300 people with new-onset diabetes are part of this forward-looking clinical trial that explores whether the link between new-onset diabetes and pancreatic cancer could be useful in developing a pancreatic cancer screening strategy.
Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Baylor College of Medicine/Kelsey-Seybold Clinic are enrolling patients, and Mayo Clinic is expected to open for enrollment in late 2022.
Our goal is to have up to five sites running the study, with 12,500 participants who are representative of the diverse U.S. population. Your support helps us bring together scientists, large healthcare institutions and the federal government, all while instilling a sense of urgency and putting the patient at the center of every decision.
Hi everyone –
Brian here, writing to you from my home in Illinois. Our family was blindsided in the fall of 2018 when my wife was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. After 17 months, Pat went to her heavenly home. The chaos that pancreatic cancer tried to create could not steal our joy for life or destroy our faith and our hope. I decided to give to support the PanCAN Early Detection Initiative because if Pat – and maybe your loved one, too – had been diagnosed sooner, our seven grandchildren could have had more time with their Nana. I believe so strongly in all that we are doing together to end pancreatic cancer that I also got my company to match my recent gift. It’s a long road to a cure, but together we can get to a brighter future for patients, FAST.
With love, and in memory of “Nana” Pat,
On the Fast
Track to Better Treatments
PanCAN Precision Promise
PanCAN Precision Promise is a groundbreaking new approach to pancreatic cancer clinical trials. It was created to make drug development faster, less expensive, require fewer patients and overall, be much more efficient. You are making this possible.
You’re the reason we could open 5 new clinical trial sites this year, for a total of 22 sites nationwide and 30 expected by early 2023!
We selected the new sites based on their strong pancreatic cancer programs and geographic regions that serve a diverse patient population — helping us bring the trial to typically underserved communities.
There are 3 investigational treatments, and we’re expanding eligibility so more patients can participate.
Over 220 patients are currently enrolled – all because of you!
Hi friends –
Joanie and Scott Kriens here, coming to you from Northern California. We are big believers in PanCAN’s Precision Promise, which is disrupting the status quo in pancreatic cancer clinical trials to give all patients a longer life. Pancreatic cancer entered our lives when Joanie was diagnosed. Today, five years later, Joanie calls herself a “thriver.” In PanCAN, we’ve found an excellent organization dedicated to helping patients, as well as one that is breaking barriers. PanCAN is all about innovation and collaboration. Not settling for the status quo. Precision Promise can change the world for patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. And that’s also why we support PanCAN’s new Therapeutic Accelerator Award which, like Precision Promise, broadens the pipeline for new pancreatic cancer treatments. Thank you for going on this ride with us to help fast-track better treatments so ALL patients can thrive.
Sincerely,
P.S. PanCAN’s Therapeutic Accelerator Award is all about innovation, and we know that it’s going to give more pancreatic cancer patients more treatment options and more hope.
Going
Places
Therapeutic Accelerator Award
Directly tied into Precision Promise is the new 2022 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Therapeutic Accelerator Award supported by 1440 Foundation and the Gail V. Coleman-Kenneth M. Bruntel Research Fund.
With the help of these visionary donors, we're investing $3.8 million toward an early-phase clinical trial testing an investigational treatment combination developed by Verastem Oncology (the inaugural award recipient).
The Therapeutic Accelerator Award seeks to incentivize pharmaceutical and biotech companies to prioritize pancreatic cancer therapies in their early-phase (Phase 1 and 2) clinical trial development. It also aims to de-risk investment in the pancreatic cancer space.
If the experimental treatments in Phase 1 clinical trials are successful, they could go on to later-phase testing as part of the PanCAN Precision Promise clinical trial.
The goal of the PanCAN Therapeutic Accelerator Award is to get new, more effective treatments to pancreatic cancer patients sooner. You're helping us go places needed to improve outcomes for patients.
Hello, all –
Gail Coleman here, from Alexandria, Va. Pancreatic cancer turned my world upside down. I lost both of my parents and my husband, Ken, to this awful disease. Since Ken’s death in 2009 there have been a few new treatments that benefit some patients. But we need much more progress. I’ve funded PanCAN research grants and believe in the work PanCAN is doing. When I heard about PanCAN’s new Therapeutic Accelerator Award and its potential to bring new treatments to patients more quickly, I had to support it. Thank you for all that YOU do to support PanCAN and patients. My mom, dad, and husband would have been blown away by our collective impact against this disease. We're going places together!
In honor of my loved ones and yours,
Your Impact on the Journey for Patients and Families
Your Impact on Patients and Families This Year
Dear fellow PanCAN supporters,
My name is Dave and I’m writing to you from Austin, Texas. My first wife, my college sweetheart Dolores, died of pancreatic cancer. We were married 53 years. A few years after I lost Dolores, I remarried but three years later, my second wife Barbara got the same news: pancreatic cancer. It’s now been four years since I lost Barbara. PanCAN Patient Services was a big help to us when Barbara was diagnosed. So, when I learned that I could leave a gift to PanCAN in my will – a gift that will help others after I’m gone – I said, Yes! I’ll do whatever I can to help make progress against a disease that took my two loving wives. PanCAN is really making a difference thanks to all of you. Have you considered leaving a gift to PanCAN in your will? Everyone should.
Thank you,
Let’s Keep
Blazing Trails Together
Dear PanCAN Friends,
I’m Karyn Temple and I live in Washington, D.C. My father Ronald was a trailblazer. An educator. A mentor. Some of my fondest memories are from road trips on summer vacations – we’d talk about all sorts of things. When he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, our family was stunned. Luckily, his oncologist told us to call PanCAN Patient Services. They were a lifeline – the calm within the storm. When I had the opportunity to join the PanCAN Board of Directors, I was grateful. Not only did I want to give back to an organization that had given so much to me and my family, I also wanted to raise awareness about pancreatic cancer within the Black community. Today I work to make sure African Americans know about all that PanCAN provides, free of charge, to patients and families. I hope you’ll all continue to blaze new trails with me and work hard to improve the lives of everyone affected by pancreatic cancer.
Much love and hope,
"I knew on a fishing trip that I might have pancreatic cancer, based on my symptoms. After the trip, a CT scan and biopsy confirmed it. I’m grateful I found PanCAN Patient Services. They are always there when you need them. I feel so strongly about PanCAN that I’m leaving them a gift in my will. It’s something positive I can do for others who will get this diagnosis.”
– Steve Bothwell, San Diego, CA
You’re the
Reason I Help Patients Navigate Cancer
This year, you helped 253 people enroll in PanCAN’s Know Your Tumor® program to get biomarker and genetic testing that could lead to new treatment options.
People continued to contribute information about their treatment, care and side effects to the PanCAN Patient Registry to inform research and help patients for years to come.
693 healthcare professionals are in our PanCAN Patient Champion program, dedicated to referring pancreatic cancer patients to us for more information, services and resources.
Dear PanCAN friends –
I’m Deb, a PanCAN Patient Services Manager based in Florida. I know I’m in the right job at the right place. Nothing is more important to me than helping patients and loved ones who are looking for information, connection, community and kindness in the face of a pancreatic cancer diagnosis. I love helping people. To those who have lost someone to the disease, I hope you’re encouraged by PanCAN’s strides in research, advocacy and patient support. We’re making progress, and that’s thanks to you.
With hope,
P.S. My love for what I do is contagious — my son Anthony decided he wanted to work at PanCAN too, and now he does!
Advocacy Highlights:
Going Further, Faster
Year-round, your advocacy drives progress. Thanks to you, the Department of Defense dedicated Pancreatic Cancer Research Program was created and $15 million was devoted last year to promising research projects. Now you’re urging Congress to increase the investment to $20 million and your advocacy continues to increase the pancreatic cancer research investment at the National Cancer Institute – let’s keep that momentum going! Your voice matters!
Your Advocacy Actions This Year
523
Congressional offices heard your powerful messages, from all 50 states
10,000+
Messages sent to Congress about the urgent need for more research funding
270
Meetings with members of Congress on our Virtual Hill Day
Hi there!
I’m JB Jaso and I’m the Affiliate Chair for PanCAN’s Orange County, CA Affiliate. I’m also a huge advocate for patients. My best friend from high school, Tyler, died of pancreatic cancer when he was just 30. I went to PanCAN Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., with Tyler and his parents in 2010, and I’ve been an advocate ever since. Tyler knew what he wanted in life, and he went after it all. He was all about living every day to the fullest – going faster, further and having fun doing it. That’s what I try to do in my life today to honor the memory of my friend. Tyler was known for his spark, and I want to continue carrying on that spark for him. Thank you for doing the same through your involvement.
With gratitude,
"When I first started in pancreatic cancer research, grant support was low. Your advocacy has led to greater support for pancreatic cancer federal research funding. This has fostered an increase in the number of researchers and brought new ideas that invigorate the field. And we've taken significant, major steps forward in terms of progress."
– Channing Der, PhD, UNC-Chapel Hill; PanCAN research grant recipient; member, PanCAN Scientific & Medical Advisory Board
PanCAN PurpleStride:
Never Underestimate Your Power
PanCAN PurpleStride One Big Day Speeds Change
You took local action and had nationwide impact at PanCAN PurpleStride on April 30, 2022 – One Big Day of 60 in-person events across the country!
Over 56,000 in our PanCAN family participated, raising $15.8 million.
Huge shoutout to the top three fundraising teams: Team Taylor, Team Cedars-Sinai Whipplers and Team Andra. And to the top three individual fundraisers: Nicholas Nissen, MD, Art Taylor and Tracey Early. Thank you!
Since the first PanCAN PurpleStride in 2007, you’ve raised over $144 million – funding innovative research and free, one-to-one patient and caregiver support.
One Big Thank You to Mindy Kaling, our 2022 PanCAN PurpleStride Ambassador!
Thank you to all the passionate public figures whose PanCAN PurpleStride teams put a bigger spotlight on pancreatic cancer: Melissa Gilbert, Jean and Nicky Trebek, Rosario Dawson, Josh Stamberg, Kitty Swink, Armin Shimerma, Jonathan Frakes, Lisa Swayze, Dan Fogelman, Tony Brown and the family of Rep. John R. Lewis.
Hello, everyone.
I'm Angad Singh. My family and I attended PanCAN PurpleStride Los Angeles in 2022 - we had a team for the first year and raised over $5,300. As a PanCAN PurpleStride Grand Club member (which means I raised over $1,000 for PanCAN for a total of $2,400), and a PanCAN volunteer, you can't underestimate the collective good we can all do in fighting back against this disease. With that said, a special shoutout to my fellow Grand Club members - 48% of all PurpleStride funds are raised by members like us and I encourage everybody to strive for Grand Club in 2023! And to everyone who went to or donated to PurpleStride on April 30, we are grateful because it means more research, more help for people fighting this disease, and more fuel to get us to a day when there is no more pancreatic cancer!
Captain, Team Singh
Volunteers
Move the Mission Forward
Your Community Involvement, Coast to Coast
57
Volunteer-led affiliates across the country
167
Volunteer
leaders
579
In leadership and committee roles
Nearly 200,000 people in your PanCAN community
were inspired to take action this year!
Hi, PanCAN friends!
I’m Niketa Miller from Madison, Wis., a PanCAN volunteer and PurpleStride sponsor and fundraiser. I do this on behalf of my grandmother, who I affectionately called “My Lady.” She was my partner in crime. I got involved with PanCAN in 2009 when she was diagnosed – she enjoyed volunteering, so it was only fitting that I would do the same. I was a volunteer leader in the PanCAN Madison Affiliate, and I formed a team for PanCAN PurpleStride Madison. Ten years later, our team raised our most ever with over $17,000 for PanCAN! In 2021 I started the Ebony Eyes Foundation to honor my grandmother and we now sponsor PanCAN PurpleStride Madison. It’s a great honor to support PanCAN in tribute to my grandmother. Thank you for moving the mission forward with me!
"I’m a retired physician with pancreatic cancer. I donate to PanCAN and volunteer. I share my personal experiences navigating clinical trials, finding doctors and figuring out the best diet. I point patients to PanCAN right away and tell them to stay hopeful.”
– Ira Sharp, MD, Philadelphia, PA
Your
Fundraising Momentum
Hi everyone,
Marco Argenti here, coming to you from New York City. My passion for giving back started five years ago when I lost my dear friend Matt to pancreatic cancer. I started a Wage Hope My Way event for PanCAN to raise money through a concert with my band. Matt and I had been in the band together and it seemed like a great way to honor him. When PanCAN later asked me to serve on the Board of Directors, I was thrilled. I had wanted to do more. I’ve been involved in many ways, including giving to support new early detection and treatment options. I pledged to raise $1 million for PanCAN after Matt died, and just a few months ago, I did! Thank you to everyone who helped me do that!
Thank you,
Your Fundraising This Year
529
Wage Hope My Way
do-it-yourself fundraiser events
3,062
Fundraisers for our four Facebook challenges
$5.3M
Raised through Wage Hope My Way and Facebook fundraisers
Dear PanCAN supporters,
My name is Heather and I live in New York. Not long ago I laced up my running shoes and did the New York City Marathon to raise money for PanCAN. Through my Wage Hope My Way fundraising page, I was able to bring in $38,000 from friends and family just by telling my story. People gave in tribute to my mom, who passed away from pancreatic cancer over 10 years ago. My family has been very involved with PanCAN PurpleStride for years, and together we’ve raised over $425,000. I encourage you to consider running for the cause, participating in a marathon or half-marathon for PanCAN. If I can do it, so can you. Quitting was not an option when it came to crossing that finish line!
Let’s keep the momentum going.
With love,
Going Far
with Us
We are extremely grateful for our healthcare Industry Partners. Their generous support touches every corner of PanCAN.
- AbbVie
- AstraZeneca
- Boston Scientific
- BMS
- Elevation Oncology
- Eli Lilly
- FibroGen
- Genentech
- GRAIL
- Immunovia, Inc
- Ipsen
- Janssen
- Labcorp
- Merck
- Mirati
- Novocure
- Novartis
- Pfizer
- Servier
- Tempus
- TYME
- ViewRay
We Covered a
Lot of Ground Together This Year!
We wish we could fit all your passion from all 50 states into our Impact Report! We are so grateful for your commitment. It’s because of you that we can help people anywhere in the country. All of your hard work gets the word out there about PanCAN and it’s paying off – the public’s knowledge of PanCAN increased from 14 to 15% this year and we’re going for 30% by 2030. Just more for you to feel good about!
A special thank you to everyone who shared their inspiring stories with us this year, and took the time to be interviewed, photographed, and participate in videos and webinars.
You’re Driving
Progress Toward Priority Goals
All roads lead to PanCAN’s priority goals, and thanks to your partnership, we’re getting closer each day. Growing awareness of PanCAN to 30% and raising $80 million annually by 2030 will help ensure that more patients know how to get free information and resources to fight pancreatic cancer, and that more funding can lead to faster progress in research, new treatments and early detection. Hitting these goals will help increase the survival rate to 20%.
The movement you started is only getting stronger. You’re making a big impact — let’s keep it going!
PanCAN’s 2030 Goals
On the Road to Doubling Survival by 2030
If you’d like to do even more for patients and families, consider taking action in these ways:
- Make a personal gift
- Refer people to PanCAN Patient Services at 877-2-PANCAN
- Participate in PanCAN PurpleStride – One Big Day of taking steps to end pancreatic cancer – Saturday, April 29, 2023!
- Volunteer with your local PanCAN affiliate
- Become an advocate
- Ask your company to donate or sponsor a PanCAN event, or to match your donation to PanCAN
- Host your own fundraiser
PanCAN Board of Directors and Scientific and Medical Advisory Board member, Manuel Hidalgo, MD, PhD, Weill Cornell Medicine (not pictured, board members Dennis Cronin, Linda Amuso and Hilarie Koplow-McAdams).
PanCAN
Leadership
PanCAN's Board of Directors spans the country and brings a broad range of professional expertise and personal experiences with pancreatic cancer.
Board of Directors
-
Michael A.G. Korengold
Chair
Bronxville, NY -
Karen Young, CPA
Vice Chair
Chester, NJ -
Linda E. Amuso
San Francisco, CA
-
Marco Argenti
New York, NY
-
Peter Cashion
Washington, D.C.
-
Dennis Cronin
Pittsburgh, PA
-
Julie M. Fleshman, JD, MBA
President & CEO, Los Angeles, CA
-
Barbara J. Kenner, PhD
New York, NY
-
Jason Kuhn
Tampa, FL
-
Lisa Kulok
Portland, OR
-
Hilarie Koplow-McAdams
San Francisco, CA
-
Craig A. Rogerson
Columbus, OH
-
Nancy Stagliano, PhD
Santa Ynez, CA
-
Karyn A. Temple
Washington, D.C.
-
Rod Williams, MBA
Grapevine, TX
Scientific & Medical Advisory Board
-
Margaret Tempero, MD
Chair
University of California, San Francisco -
Dafna Bar-Sagi, PhD
Perlmutter Cancer Center/NYU Langone Health
-
Gregory Beatty, MD, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
-
Jordan Berlin, MD
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
-
Suresh Chari, MD
MD Anderson Cancer Center
-
Eric Collisson, MD
University of California,
San Francisco -
Howard Crawford, PhD
Henry Ford Health System
-
Channing Der, PhD
University of North Carolina
-
George A. Fisher, Jr., MD, PhD
Stanford University
-
Jason Fleming, MD
Moffitt Cancer Center
-
Joseph Herman, MD, MSc
Northwell Health
-
Manuel Hidalgo, MD, PhD
Weill Cornell Medicine
-
Sunil Hingorani, MD, PhD
University of Nebraska
Medical Center -
Michael Hollingsworth, PhD
University of Nebraska
Medical Center
-
Hedy Kindler, MD
University of Chicago
-
Alison Klein, MHS, PhD
Johns Hopkins University
-
Steven D. Leach, MD
Dartmouth
-
Andrew Lowy, MD, FACS
University of California, San Diego
-
Anirban Maitra, MBBS
MD Anderson Cancer Center
-
Nipun Merchant, MD
University of Miami
-
Jeannine Mills, MS, RD, CSO, LD
Dartmouth
-
Nicholas Nissen, MD
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
-
Eileen O’Reilly, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering
Cancer Center -
Gloria Petersen, PhD
Mayo Clinic
-
Philip A. Philip, MD, PhD
Karmanos Cancer Institute
-
Vincent Picozzi, MD
Virginia Mason Medical Center
-
Rosalie Sears, PhD
Oregon Health & Science University
-
Diane Simeone, MD
Perlmutter Cancer Center/NYU Langone Health
Volunteer Advisory Council
-
Janice Griffin
Co-Chair
Boston, MA -
Helen Dillen
Co-Chair
Portland, OR -
Angeli Bateman
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
-
Janice Griffin
Boston, MA
-
Kaz Iwamoto
Los Angeles, CA
-
Jeanne Lipshetz
Milwaukee, WI
-
Mimi Leonard
Colorado
-
Tiffany Mekeel
Cleveland, OH
-
Bruce Platt
Philadelphia, PA
-
Tripp Razor
Raleigh-Durham, NC
-
Jann Skelton
New York City, NY
-
Wendy Stoneberg
Boise, ID
Survivor Council
-
Anggie Becorest
San Diego, CA
-
Anne Shimabukuro
Potomac, MD
-
Clayton Mansfield
Groton, CT
-
Diane Schooley-Pettis
Boise, ID
-
John Walmsley
Cumberland, RI
-
Lisa Beckendorf
Minneapolis, MN
-
Nick Pifani
Delran, NJ
-
Paris Johnson
Philadelphia, PA
-
Randi Ervin
Oakland, CA
-
Ray Shupe
Port Washington, WI
-
Sandra Mack
Reynoldsburg, OH
Your Gifts
Are the Fuel
PanCAN is dedicated to using your gifts wisely and maintaining full transparency.
For the 18th consecutive year, we received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator – you put your trust in us and we take that very seriously.
Only 21 of the more than 9,000 organizations rated have received this rating with the same consistency.
See how your dollars were put to work in fiscal year 2022 (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022).
PanCAN’s vision is to create a world in which all patients with pancreatic cancer will thrive.
Our mission is to take bold action to improve the lives of everyone impacted by pancreatic cancer by advancing scientific research, building community, sharing knowledge and advocating for patients.
