Purplelight for Pancreatic Cancer

September 28, 2012

SIOUX FALLS, S. D. ? Volunteers want to turn Sioux Falls purple this weekend, to call attention to pancreatic cancer. It's the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and the only one with a five-year survival rate in the single digits, at six percent.

This weekend, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PAN-CAN), is holding a "Purplelight Vigil for Hope" on Sunday. Bob Wilcockson of Yankton was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer in October of 2009.

"Pancreatic cancer, even when it is operable, is a very difficult cancer. There has been no progress made in the last 40 years on the survivability, so my outlook was pretty grim."

After the initial shock of the diagnosis, says Wilcockson, he looked for the best specialists he could find.

"I had an experimental treatment at the Mayo Clinic. It was thought at the time not to hold much promise; obviously, it was quite a breakthrough. It hasn't been released to the public; probably will be in the next decade. But I was one of five people in a group of 36 that responded to the treatment, and three of us are still alive."

He says groups like PAN-CAN are vital to help people get through many tough times as they fight pancreatic cancer.

"There is help out there. There's support, there's people who you can ask questions of. In any medical situation, you've got to be your either your own advocate or somebody has to be an advocate for you, and that's what the PAN-CAN network is intended to do."

This year, nearly 44,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and more than 37,000 will die from the disease. Seventy-four percent of patients die within the first year after diagnosis. At present, there are no early detection methods and few effective treatment options.

The Purplelight Vigil is Sun., Sept. 30, at 7:30 p.m., at Terrace Park, 200-299 W. 4th St., Sioux Falls. It will honor those who have fought pancreatic cancer and celebrate the survivors.

Jerry Oster, Public News Service - SD

Source: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/28608-1

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