New Jersey Leading Purple Charge to Fight Pancreatic Cancer

Living in New Jersey, I have learned people in the Garden State always enjoy flaunting their successes. 

Whether it’s bragging with others about who’s the country’s best all-time singer (Jersey’s own Frank Sinatra), where college football and baseball got their starts (New Brunswick and Hoboken, respectively) or where the birthplace of first-pumping originated (Seaside?), people in New Jersey seem to be proud about what their state has to offer.

Even our state motto deals with “Liberty and Prosperity” not “Liberty and Mediocrity."  If that was the case, people would be flocking out of the state to find other places to live.

OK, so maybe that was a bad example.

In New Jersey we have become a driving force in the difficult road toward finding a cure for pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death. In 2010, over 43,000 people were diagnosed with the disease and more than 36,800 died from the disease. There is no early detection method or effective treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Our group, the New Jersey Affiliate of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, capped off a remarkable year, raising almost $160,000 and awareness about this insidious disease through various events from a baseball game to our inaugural  last November.

With our group’s momentum at an all-time high, our affiliate received an added boost when one of our state’s congressmen, Rep. Leonard Lance, R-7th, volunteered to support the reintroduction of the Pancreatic Cancer Research & Education Act. The act will ensure the National Cancer Institute (NCI) takes the necessary steps to address the astounding mortality of pancreatic cancer by developing a long-term comprehensive strategic plan targeting the disease so patient outcomes will improve in the years to come.

Once again, New Jersey is stepping up to the plate. But this time it goes way beyond Hoboken.

Last week I received a phone call from our national office, asking if I would like to attend the press conference with Lance, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s President and CEO Julie Fleshman, our group’s national spokesperson and Patrick Swayze’s widow Lisa Niemi Swayze as well as U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, and U.S. Rep. Anna Eschoo, D-CA, announcing the reintroduction of this potential impetus for change. With Lance as my hometown congressman, I was on board and grateful at this unique and thrilling opportunity.

After taking the three-hour train ride to Washington, I joined our advocacy coordinator—Millburn native and five-year pancreatic cancer survivor —at a press conference in the Hugh Scott Room in the U.S. Capitol as the media started to trickle into the space. Before we knew it, CNN, CBS, the Associated Press and several other outlets began to fill a room that looked like it needed a wall knocked down to accommodate the growing crew of about 30 people on hand. Since I didn’t think I would have been able to get a three-pound sledgehammer past the security checkpoints, there was no chance for me doing my Bob Villa imitation in Washington.

Prior to the start of the press conference, Michael and I were asked to step out of the room where we were introduced to Lance.  I told the congressman my entire family is thrilled with his involvement in this bill. Nearly nine years ago, , Richard, to pancreatic cancer. Just like 75 percent of those diagnosed with the disease, he died within one year of his diagnosis. Multiple rounds of chemotherapy only bought us a small amount of time in what proved to be a futile battle. The life expectancy after the spread of the disease is three to six months. Only six percent of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer live more than five years. During the press conference, Swayze said her husband lived 22 months after diagnosis and that was a miracle. Already past that milestone, Michael is like a beacon of hope for others fighting their own battles.

I also mentioned to Lance two families close to us have family members battling this disease and I wanted to help them avoid my father’s fate. He seemed as enthusiastic as we were, ready to take the first step together in finding answers for this disease.

“It is imperative that Congress work in a bipartisan bicameral fashion on reducing the morality rate for pancreatic cancer,” Lance said in a statement. “The Pancreatic Cancer Research & Education Act seeks to provide a greater focus on this disease while giving researchers the tools and resources they need to develop treatments and hopefully cures for pancreatic cancer patients.”

Fleshman also presented a report called “Pancreatic Cancer: A Trickle of Federal Funding for a River of Need."  The report showed the survival rates for pancreatic cancer have remained in the single digits for 40 years despite progress for other cancers. Only about 2 percent of NCI funding goes toward pancreatic cancer research. Two percent. That’s like three exits on the entire Garden State Parkway.

The only problem is the toll pancreatic cancer patients are paying is a lot more than just four quarters.

With members from both parties involved in the bill, another step toward finding that elusive cure is in place. Earlier this month the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network announced an initiative to double the survival of pancreatic cancer patients by the year 2020. Through intensifying our efforts in raising awareness, supporting patients and advocacy, we might be able to make some real progress.

With New Jersey heavily involved in the mix, I am hopeful that we will have another success to lead the nation and even the world in ending pancreatic cancer as we know it.

And making pancreatic cancer history.

Todd Cohen is a West Orange Middle School teacher, freelance writer and media representative for the New Jersey Affiliate of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.  For more information about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, you can email Todd at TCohen@pancanvolunteer.org.