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When there was no one for patients with pancreatic cancer and their families to turn to, we built this community to ensure no one has to face this disease alone.
Dear Friends,
So much has changed since our beginnings in 1999.
Our mission has not.
For 26 years, we’ve stood up to one challenge after another. This year was no exception. Through it all, we’ve held steadfast to this vision: Create a world in which all patients with pancreatic cancer will thrive. Like never before, we’ve put that vision in the spotlight this year.
It shined on our PanCAN Patient Services Case Managers every time they connected with someone impacted by pancreatic cancer to offer a lifeline of resources and information.
It shined on everyone who showed up for PanCAN PurpleStride, joined Team PanCAN to run a marathon, hosted a bake sale or dedicated their birthday to raise funds to fuel progress for our community.
It shined on each one of our advocates who raised their voices to protect federal funding and urge increases to pancreatic cancer research. And on my multiple visits to Capitol Hill with leading researchers, our Chief Scientific and Medical Officer Anna Berkenblit, MD, MMSc, and PanCAN ambassador and former Miss America Madison Marsh, to make sure our urgent message was delivered directly to Congress.
It shined on the researchers who continue to push forward to redefine patient outcomes. While it is a time of much uncertainty, they’re closing in on powerful therapies that can directly target mutations in a gene called KRAS, the most common alteration in pancreatic adenocarcinoma tumors.
And it shines most brightly on every one of you, because you are the catalyst of this powerful movement of progress. When there was no one for patients with pancreatic cancer and their families to turn to, we built this community to ensure no one has to face this disease alone.
That promise has been our guiding light since the very beginning. Thank you for keeping it bright.
With gratitude,
Julie M. Fleshman, JD, MBA
President and Chief Executive Officer
Counting on Big Progress
Thanks to you, we have spurred new advances that have steadily driven increases to five-year patient survival. You have been the catalyst of every moment of this powerful movement of progress.
PanCAN PATIENT SERVICES
Patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals have called upon PanCAN more than half a million times for free personalized information, resources and support.
Research Investment
With your generous support, PanCAN has invested almost a quarter of a billion dollars into research and scientific programs to advance the field.
Know Your Tumor
More than 2,000 patients have received a report from PanCAN’s Know Your Tumor® precision medicine service providing information about personalized treatment options based on their own biology.
Clinical Trial Finder
More than 119,000 searches have been performed by patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals using PanCAN’s Clinical Trial Finder, the most comprehensive and up-to-date database of pancreatic cancer clinical trials in the United States.
| Patient Services Spotlight |
You Provide a Lifeline for Patients and Families
24,955
digital and hardcopy versions of our educational booklets were distributed this year.
38,572
total interactions managed by the Patient Services team including almost 16,000 new patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals contacting us for vital resources this year.
10,954
clinical trial searches using Clinical Trial Finder were conducted by Case Managers, patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals this year.
A Partner for Patients: Case Manager Staci Stermer
PanCAN Patient Services Case Manager Staci Stermer brings compassion and kindness, as well as deep knowledge of the disease, to every conversation she has with patients and caregivers. Sometimes, this means forming a long-term connection over multiple conversations.
This is what happened with a recently diagnosed patient who was struggling with fear and uncertainty about what to do next. Over a few weeks, Staci provided her with feedback and guidance. She offered information about self-advocacy, seeking a second opinion, and clinical trial options. She helped to find wigs and scarves and suggested PanCAN’s Survivor and Caregiver Network as a way to connect with fellow survivors. Through it all, Staci served as a true partner in this journey, helping to navigate decisions every step of the way.
This experience is impactful because it shows how PanCAN has a unique approach with direct case management services – assisting patients in not only accessing the right team, right tests and right treatment, but also in accessing an encouraging community, support resources and education.
Staci Stermer
PanCAN Patient Services Case Manager II
In Their Own Words: The PanCAN Patient Services Team
PanCAN Patient Services is a lifeline for people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and their caregivers. Meet some members of the team and learn more about what inspires them in the work they do:
Even in the face of pancreatic cancer, so many patients and families meet it with love for one another and a determination to keep going. Being able to support them, whether that means offering a listening ear, helping them stay informed, or simply walking alongside them as they navigate challenges that come with the diagnosis — that is what drives me. It is an honor to be a small part of their journey.
Brianne Flores
PanCAN Patient Services Navigator, Research and Education
Hearing the survivors’ stories inspires me. I learn so much from talking with patients, caregivers, families and loved ones about their experience with the disease. Those nuances help to influence my work. It also helps me to be more knowledgeable when I’m supporting other families.
Trishana Horton
PanCAN Patient Services Case Manager II
I enjoy being able to help people navigate through the journey a pancreatic cancer diagnosis comes with. I am someone who can provide hope and empowerment to people who reach out to our organization.
Alexis Rodriguez
PanCAN Patient Services Senior Case Manager
Want a deeper dive into what PanCAN Patient Services offers? Members of the team answer some of our community’s most frequently asked questions during our webinar, “Guiding the Pancreatic Cancer Community: PanCAN Patient Services.” Watch now.
PanCAN is here for everyone affected by pancreatic cancer, free of charge, thanks to donors like you.
Learn more about PanCAN Patient Services.
| Donor Spotlight |
For Sandy, Giving is in Her DNA
To PanCAN supporter Sandy Smalley, charitable giving is a family affair. Her parents were philanthropists, she and her husband, Marvin, carried on the tradition and now their children keep the custom going.
Marvin passed away from pancreatic cancer at 90, just four months after he was diagnosed. To honor him, Sandy decided to support PanCAN Patient Services and research, helping us reach our goal of increasing survival to 20% by 2030.
Said Sandy, “We had a wonderful life and I’m still healthy. I’m so grateful to be able to make this donation to help patients and families impacted by disease.”
Read more about Sandy and Marvin’s journey and how “charitable giving is a shared blessing.”
| Strider Spotlight |
You Continue to Make Strides for the Pancreatic Cancer Community!
You made PanCAN PurpleStride 2025 more impactful than ever by raising over $17.6 million to support vital PanCAN research and programs for patients and families. Over 63,000 Striders took steps to end pancreatic cancer at nearly 60 events across the country on Saturday, April 26, bringing our community closer together and inspiring a nation.
Thank you to the Daniel J. Kobasic Foundation in Memory of Daniel J. Kobasic, the Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation, Linda Amuso, and three anonymous donors for offering Striders matching gift opportunities. Your generosity is infectious.
Want to join us at our biggest community event of the year?
You can register now for PanCAN PurpleStride 2026, happening on Saturday, April 25 in an area near you!
Spotlight on Striders from Across the Nation!
Do you have a favorite part of PurpleStride? How does it feel to be part of a community striding for a cure? Here’s what some of your fellow Striders had to say:
Read more about Art and Elaine’s passion
for ending pancreatic cancer.
| Research Spotlight |
You’re the Key to Unlocking KRAS
More than 90% of patients with pancreatic cancer have a KRAS mutation in their tumor. For decades, these mutations were considered “undruggable,” meaning there was no effective way to target them with treatments.
But groundbreaking research is changing that.
The emergence of KRAS-targeted therapies in clinical trials has the potential to revolutionize pancreatic cancer treatment. I’m excited to see results from clinical trials and for PanCAN to continue to shape scientific and clinical research to help bring more effective treatment options to patients faster.
Anna Berkenblit, MD, MMSc
PanCAN Chief Scientific and Medical Officer
PanCAN has understood the potential for KRAS-targeted therapies since the start of our Research Grants Program. Thanks to the generous support of donors like you, we’ve funded talented researchers whose work has led to real progress:
Laying the Foundation
A mouse model that allows researchers to study pancreatic cancer driven by KRAS mutations is described for the first time in a Cancer Cell paper. This work, led by David Tuveson, MD, PhD, is partially funded by PanCAN.
Catalyzing Progress
Recognizing the opportunities for treatment breakthroughs, PanCAN begins to fund grants exploring KRAS inhibition.
Advocating for More
PanCAN’s advocacy efforts lead to the passage of the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act, which results in a scientific framework for pancreatic cancer outlining four national research priorities including studying RAS, and specifically KRAS, for patients with pancreatic cancer.
Growing the Field
PanCAN partners with the National Cancer Institute’s new RAS Initiative to grant KRAS Awards to seven early career investigators.
Pioneering Industry Partnership
PanCAN’s inaugural $3.8 million Therapeutic Accelerator Award goes to Verastem Oncology for their early-stage clinical trial testing a treatment combination targeting signaling pathways that get activated by and alongside mutant KRAS.
Exploring New Treatments
All the progress in the field has laid the groundwork for the first Phase III clinical trial for a novel RAS(ON) inhibitor for patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer, led by Revolution Medicines.
Learn more about the newest in pancreatic cancer research from PanCAN Chief Scientific and Medical Officer Anna Berkenblit, MD, MMSc.
Read her Research Spotlight series.
| Advocacy Spotlight |
PanCAN Advocates Like You Protect Research Funding
Thanks to PanCAN for helping me with advocacy issues. I thought it was impressive that I got a personalized response from my senator. To me, it’s personal and can mean life itself. To the senator, it is a 30-year registered voter that cares what he thinks and does. Thanks, and keep up the good work.
Stephen Greenman
Survivor and advocate
Our pancreatic cancer research community faced unprecedented challenges and threats to funding this year, at a time when researchers are closing in on powerful new therapies. And in the face of those challenges, our advocates stepped up like never before, demanding that Congress protect and increase federal funding for research.
9,000+
new advocates joined us this year, adding their voices to thousands of others urging Congress to protect federal funding.
69,000+
actions were taken by PanCAN advocates amplifying our message — they sent emails to Congress, called their representatives and posted on social media.
Keep up with the current state of federal funding for pancreatic cancer with our regularly updated blog.
| Program Spotlight |
Your Support Makes Progress Possible
Improving Patient Outcomes: Know Your Tumor and Patient Navigation
PanCAN Patient Services Navigator Juan Piña knows the importance of biomarker testing for every person diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This type of testing evaluates a tumor’s biology, which may impact treatment decisions. So when a patient came to Juan with questions after receiving biomarker testing through PanCAN’s Know Your Tumor precision medicine service, he encouraged her to bring the results to her healthcare team, even though she was in active treatment. The report showed that her tumor carried a mutation called MTAP deletion, an important finding that opened additional clinical trial options.
Thanks to her self-advocacy, Juan’s support and the Know Your Tumor report, she was able to enroll in a clinical trial evaluating an investigational drug that targets this mutation. PanCAN helped to ensure she connected her treating oncologist with the study’s principal investigator to coordinate her care.
Meet PanCAN Patient Services navigators. Read more about our team.
This experience highlights the value of navigation support and the importance of biomarker testing. This patient expressed deep appreciation for the support and said that Know Your Tumor has been instrumental in her pancreatic cancer journey.
Juan Piña
PanCAN Patient Services Navigator
Free biomarker testing is available through Know Your Tumor to eligible patients, thanks to donors like you.
Learn more about PanCAN’s Know Your Tumor precision medicine service.
The Path to Earlier Detection: PanCAN’s Early Detection Initiative
PanCAN’s Early Detection Initiative recently reached a critical milestone: The study has enrolled all the patients necessary to move on to the next stage of this groundbreaking work that explores the connection between new-onset diabetes and pancreatic cancer.
Ultimately, the goal is for the study results to help develop a screening method to detect pancreatic cancer when it can be surgically removed in people with new-onset diabetes who are at high risk for pancreatic cancer.
I’m hopeful that there is lead time that we can gain with pancreas cancer to diagnose it earlier. The symptoms of pancreas cancer are vague, and by the time you have symptoms, it’s often pretty advanced. We’ve got to find it in its asymptomatic stage.
William Fisher, MD
Elkins Pancreas Center Director and principal investigator for PanCAN’s Early Detection Initiative at Baylor College of Medicine
Harnessing the Power of Data and Artificial Intelligence: THE SPARK HEALTH DATA PLATFORM
Through the SPARK Health Data Platform, PanCAN provides de-identified patient data for open sharing and collaboration across research, academia and the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. In this new era of artificial intelligence (AI), access to data allows scientists to harness the speed, efficiency and scale of this technology to drive progress faster than ever before. Here are just a few promising projects:
Through a new data partnership with Acurion, a leader in AI-driven oncology, PanCAN is helping transform how pancreatic cancer is subtyped for optimal treatment selection. Leveraging data from SPARK and its OncoGaze™ platform, Acurion aims to identify clinically actionable biomarkers that can guide treatment decisions earlier and with greater precision. Read more.
Data from PanCAN Precision PromiseSM, an innovative Phase II/III adaptive clinical trial platform designed to accelerate new treatment options, will be shared with pancreatic cancer researchers through SPARK. Disseminating these data to the research community – including genomic sequencing data, CT/MRI scans, data from Fitbit capturing patient’s activity levels and patient-reported outcomes capturing quality of life metrics – gets us one step closer to breakthroughs that will improve lives.
A paper published in Nature Communication shows, for the first time, that high-quality, privacy-preserving multinational clinical research is possible using federated learning, a type of machine learning that draws from data stored on individual devices instead of a common server. This breakthrough, powered by data from SPARK in collaboration with the Agentic AI company, Owkin, paves the way for faster, more collaborative drug development and improved patient outcomes. Read more.
| Fundraiser Spotlight |
PanCAN Fundraisers Turn Pain Into Purpose
A Personal Goal Becomes a Powerful Tribute
Over the past few years, Rabbi Daniel Greyber lost his mother-in-law, Leslie Parker, and his friend, Rabbi Steve Sager, to pancreatic cancer.
Determined to turn his grief into purpose, Daniel dedicated his six-month sabbatical to channeling that effort into something greater.
What began as a personal goal became a powerful collective tribute. Daniel became part of Team PanCAN and PanCAN’s Endurance Program, ultimately completing a triathlon in Hawaii and raising more than $21,000 to help patients and families get the resources they need.
Each person has a journey and a story to share. I think one of the most important things we can do in life is take our pain and make meaning from it. Pancreatic cancer is a disease that causes so much pain and leaves so many voids in so many lives. I encourage each person in their own way to bring light into the darkness, and hopefully soon, a cure will come!
Rabbi Daniel Greyber
Legacy of Love, Celebration of Life
Sarah Andreucci lost her father, Jeff Lambie, in July. Right after his diagnosis, Sarah and her brothers wanted to make sure that their parents would still celebrate upcoming special milestones: their 48th wedding anniversary and their retirement after 30 years as business owners.
To show their dad how much love and support surrounded him, Sarah and her family decided to throw a celebration — and fundraise for PanCAN at the same time.
At the event, Jeff and his wife renewed their vows and danced to their wedding song. The wait staff, deeply moved by the occasion, generously donated all their tips to the fundraiser, which raised nearly $19,000.
We are slowly figuring out the ins and outs of a life without his guidance, humor and generosity. We are beyond thankful that we were able to have our Wage Hope My Way event so that he truly saw the appreciation of so many people. We know the money raised will continue to support PanCAN’s mission of advocacy, service and support — and that was very important to my dad as he never, ever stopped fighting.
Sarah Andreucci
| Industry Spotlight |
Thank you to our Industry Supporters
Our Industry supporters work tirelessly to create a brighter future for patients with pancreatic cancer. We are grateful for their generous support.
| Ambassador Spotlight |
Little House Finds a Home with PanCAN
Actress Melissa Gilbert lost two important people in her life to pancreatic cancer – her on-screen father, Michael Landon, and her good friend, Patrick Swayze.
To honor them, Melissa and Nicole Haase, her business partner for her lifestyle brand Modern Prairie, teamed up with PanCAN to launch Modern Prairie x PanCAN accessories and homewares during Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in November.
Obviously, this is not a fight I can take on myself and that is why I am so grateful for PanCAN. I can take my anger and use it to support this extraordinary organization. PanCAN is truly a one-of-a-kind resource for people whose lives are impacted by pancreatic cancer.
Melissa Gilbert
Thank you to our PanCAN Ambassadors for an amazing year
Jaylen Baron
Brandon Beemer
John Billingsley
Rosa Blasi
Raven Bowens
Heather Boyd
Rachel Boyd
Judge Frank Caprio*
Juan Carlos Coto
Bryan Datillo
Rosario Dawson
Dan Feuerriegel
Jonathan Frakes
Kennedy Garcia
Melissa Gilbert
Alice Halsey
Tina Huang
Eric Idle
Cherie Jimenez
Mindy Kaling
Abigail Klein
Victoria Konefal
Cindy Landon
Jen Landon
Leslie Landon
Michael Landon, Jr.
Sean Landon
Shawna Landon
John Paul Lavoisier
Martha Madison
Madison Marsh
Maria Menounos
Stephen Nichols
Shi Ne Nielson
Ashley Puzemis
Armin Shimerman
Lisa Niemi Swayze
Kitty Swink
Nikky Trebek
Joan Vassos
* We are deeply saddened at the passing of Judge Caprio on August 20, 2025.
| Volunteer Spotlight |
Danielle Baham is Connecting the Dots
Even before becoming a PanCAN volunteer, registered dietitian Danielle Baham shared PanCAN resources with her patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Now at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, she still distributes PanCAN Patient Services booklets on diet and nutrition.
At a PanCAN PurpleStride event she attended with a good friend who had lost her father to the disease, she wrote her name on a sign-up sheet to learn more about joining the 600+ PanCAN volunteer leaders across the country. The rest is history.
Now the Survivor Outreach Chair for the Sacramento Affiliate, Danielle takes pride in connecting survivors of pancreatic cancer at any stage in their journey.
The highlight of this role has been pairing up survivors, so they won’t feel alone. There are two I paired up who still talk almost every day.
Learn more about Danielle, her work and PanCAN volunteerism.
| Leadership Spotlight |
The People Powering PanCAN
Our dedicated team and volunteer leadership boards, councils and committees act every day for patients and families facing pancreatic cancer. PanCAN is powered by the thousands of volunteers, advocates, donors and fundraisers who shape our mission and impact. The organization is led by experts who are tackling the disease on all fronts.
| Financial Spotlight |
PanCAN Uses Your Gifts Wisely and Maintains Full Transparency
With your support, we will achieve even more for every single individual touched by this disease today, and for all those who will face it tomorrow. See how your dollars were put to work in fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025).
REVENUE
HOW YOUR DOLLARS ARE SPENT
| Spotlight on What’s Next |
PanCAN’s 5-year Action Plan for Progress
When we took on the world’s toughest cancer in 1999, it was a daunting task, but we were up to the challenge. Now, like never before, PanCAN’s decisive leadership is galvanizing the entire pancreatic cancer community as we face new challenges to progress.
We must continue to meet the needs of everyone impacted by this disease. We must continue to protect the pancreatic cancer research community. And we must continue to push forward to develop more effective treatments and earlier detection strategies.
Our core strength — our comprehensive approach — will provide the foundation as we navigate the path directly in front of us today and toward 20% five-year survival by 2030, fueled by three strategic drivers:
Accelerate
patient progress
Advancing research priorities and empowering patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals to redefine patient outcomes.
Grow and mobilize
a community of action
Increasing awareness, engagement and resources, and catalyzing our nationwide force of volunteers, supporters and partners.
Cultivate a workplace to inspire transformational impact
Creating an environment that enables excellence, fostering a dynamic culture built on accountability and respect.
You make the path forward possible. You’ve created a movement where everyone has a role to play, driving measurable progress with immeasurable impact. And we will never stop redefining patient outcomes until survival is possible for every person.
Now, more than ever, the pancreatic cancer community is looking to PanCAN for leadership and direction.
Read our five-year action plan, the roadmap for our bold goals. Learn more about the direction we’re headed and how we plan to get there.
