My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the spring of 2015. We were incredibly fortunate that she showed symptoms early, which lead to an early diagnosis and early treatment. With pancreatic cancer, this made all the difference.

After two separate Whipple surgeries, along with radiation and chemotherapy, she became cancer-free.

Because of that early diagnosis and successful treatment, we were given seven more years with her.

Those seven years gave us so much. She and my dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. She watched her grandchildren grow, and in 2018 she met her fifth and youngest grandchild, Elise. We shared family trips to the Jersey Shore, and she even traveled  to visit family in the place of her birth, Burgenland, Austria. These are memories we would not have had otherwise.

We lost her in 2022 due to complications from a different form of cancer. But the time we had after her diagnosis was a gift—time made possible by early detection and effective treatment.

I’m running for Let’s Win Pancreatic Cancer in the hope that more families can have that same gift. The money raised will help patients find the information on the medical providers, research and treatment advances that can lead to more stories like my mom’s—with more anniversaries, more time with grandchildren, more family trips, and more years together.