In Conversation: Renee Clearman, PurpleStride Chair, Michigan Affiliate

Editor’s Note: Michigan PurpleStride Chair Renee Clearman spoke with Community Engagement Senior Specialist Paula Mukherjee about her passion for PanCAN’s mission and excitement for PanCAN PurpleStride 2026.

Paula: How did you first get connected with PanCAN?

Renee: In November of 2016, my mother was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. The diagnosis was blindsiding. My family had never known anyone with pancreatic cancer.

My dad began Googling like crazy to find pancreatic cancer resources and stumbled upon PanCAN. He sent an email to our family to say he had found PanCAN, learned about PanCAN PurpleStride and created a PurpleStride team for PurpleStride Michigan the following spring. We did our first PurpleStride in 2017, and I was hooked.

We had 14 months with my mom before she passed in January 2018.

Near the end, we had really good conversations. She asked me if I would keep fighting on her behalf and keep volunteering with PanCAN for her. I said that I would.

Unfortunately, my dad unexpectedly died five weeks later. He had early-stage lung cancer and had a rare reaction to radiation.

After he passed, I decided that I had to do more in the fight against cancer.

Paula: I’m so sorry to hear that you lost both your parents to cancer.

Renee: During that time, we also lost two more family members to pancreatic cancer. I later lost two cousins and my husband’s aunt died from it as well.

We’ve lost a good friend to pancreatic cancer, and I have a friend who is 42, the same age as me, who received a pancreatic cancer diagnosis as well.

I went from knowing no one with pancreatic cancer to having it become a big part of my life.

Paula: How did you deepen your involvement with PanCAN?

Renee: Before my father’s death, I was a general volunteer with the Michigan Affiliate and hadn’t taken on a leadership role. I then joined the PurpleStride committee in a logistics role.

I became the PurpleStride chair in 2021; my first event in the role was virtual due to Covid. I’ve remained the chair since then.

My life has gotten busier since I first started volunteering with PanCAN. I got remarried and now have step kids. I work in the cancer field, and I’ve taken on a higher role at my company.

Sometimes it’s a tough balance, but I can’t walk away from my volunteer commitments. Volunteering with PanCAN is a part of my life.

Paula: I’d love to hear about your career path. Did your family history inspire you to work in the cancer field?

Renee: It was inspired by a little bit of everything in my life. I have worked in genetics for a while. I was in pediatric genetics when my parents got sick. I decided that I really wanted to work in oncology genetics on cancer screenings, so I moved into that specialty in 2021.

I’m a sales director at a biotechnology company that produces blood tests that can identify cancer tumor biomarkers. It’s great to work for a company that does a lot of cancer research.

My career was inspired by my parents’ journeys as well as the experiences of other family members; all types of cancer are rampant in my family. It was a logical switch to bring together my personal and professional lives.

Paula: What are you most excited about in 2026?

Renee: 2025 was a big PurpleStride for Michigan — we were a top 10 fundraising event. This was a big, big achievement. I’m very proud of it.

Where do we go from here? I’m really excited about making PurpleStride Michigan even bigger. We’re in a new location this year because we’ve outgrown our previous venue. We had moved away from Detroit a few years ago, but now we’re bringing the event back to Detroit!

The Michigan Affiliate is amazing; we have a solid volunteer team. We used to be the Detroit Affiliate, but we changed the name to match our focus on the whole state.

I am hoping we become a top 10 event again and continue to grow and build on what we’re already doing here. We have some new volunteers, so I’m really looking forward to working with them more closely and continuing to make a difference for those affected by pancreatic cancer. It’s an exciting time!

Paula: Has the switch from a city to statewide affiliate also changed your PurpleStride strategy?

Renee: Absolutely.

When we first made the name change a few years ago, we made a game plan for marketing PurpleStride throughout Michigan. We’ve networked with different hospitals and businesses across the state. Promotion outside of Detroit helps drive donations and our impact on the region.

We’ve really developed in the Ann Arbor area, which is about 60 – 90 minutes outside of Detroit. It’s the home of our premier sponsor The Rogel and Blondy Center for Pancreatic Cancer at the University of Michigan Cancer Center. Many of their patients participate in PurpleStride.

The majority of PurpleStride participants live in metro Detroit, which is the most populated region of the state. We’ve seen an increase in participants from other areas such as Flint and Grand Rapids, but we still have a long way to go and expanding our reach is a goal for us this year. I’d like to see more sponsorships and PurpleStride participants coming from other parts of the state.

Paula: What is your favorite memory from PurpleStride?

Renee: I’ll never forget this moment from our first in-person PurpleStride after two years of virtual events during the pandemic. It rained the day before the event, while we were setting up the site and event day. Really pouring. I was afraid that no one would show up.

When I got on the stage to introduce the emcee, I looked down at my notes and then looked up. The clouds had parted, the sun had begun shining and there were people everywhere. I don’t even know when that happened because I had been so busy setting up.

I remember thinking, “It happened! People came!” The rain even stopped right in time for the walk. I thanked Mom and Dad for helping with that.

The thing about the pancreatic cancer community — survivors, caregivers, family, friends – is that we show up no matter what. Rain or shine.

It was a moment that rebuilt my faith in our fight and mission all over again.

Paula: How do you keep the momentum and excitement going after event day?

Renee: My affiliate posts on social media to celebrate wins and encourage donations before the PurpleStride website closes at the end of June. We also use personal outreach. Our teams chair, Debbie, is great at staying in touch with PurpleStride team captains throughout the year.

The PurpleStride committee really keeps the excitement going with participants before and after the event.

Paula: How has the experience of working with other volunteers been?

Renee: They’re family, even more than just friends. They play a big role in my life. I know that if life gets rough, there’s this group of people who have my back.

Anyone who walks into this affiliate joins this family. They join this group of individuals who understand their experiences and share a mission.

Paula: What advice would you give others who have been affected by pancreatic cancer?

Renee: I would tell them to find PanCAN. Find your closest affiliate and build a relationship.

You don’t have to start as a volunteer; it’s just nice to have those relationships and resources. I can’t think of how many times I’ve met newly diagnosed patients and put them in touch with survivors who became part of their support systems. Use the resources PanCAN provides, including PanCAN Patient Services. Lean on us.

Professionally, I would tell them there is so much going on in cancer research and development. If you’re a survivor or caregiver, know all the options and speak with different healthcare providers.

Finally, for survivors, I would encourage them to adopt the mindset that they are living with cancer, not dying from it. I had some of my best days with my mom after her diagnosis. Go forward and do as much as you can and enjoy it.

Paula: You’ve been involved with PanCAN for nearly a decade! What keeps you motivated?

Renee: The big thing is the promise I made to my mom. With work and family, I’m in a phase of life that’s extremely busy, but there’s always a voice in the back of my mind telling me that this part of my life — volunteering — is important and impactful.

There are times where I think that maybe I should step aside because someone else could contribute more, but then I remind myself that I’m doing what I need to do.

All the volunteers and survivors I’ve met through the years and the loved ones I’ve lost to pancreatic cancer stay with me. When I remember everyone I’ve lost, everyone who has come into my life because of PanCAN and everything I promised my mom and what we went through together, it keeps me motivated.