My first husband died of pancreatic cancer in 2007 at the age of 50.
He was an active, non-smoking university professor and artist who wasn’t diagnosed until he became jaundice.
He was being treated for some digestion issues, but no physician ever suspected that a healthy 48-year-old male would have the world’s most deadliest cancer.
After two surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation he bravely succumbed to the disease two years on, leaving behind two teenagers and a grieving family.
Today (Nov. 16) is World Pancreatic Cancer Day and to mark the occasion, 35 landmarks across Canada will be lit up in purple, and those who have lost loved ones we will honour them by wearing purple ribbons.
This month Pancreatic Cancer Canada wants to raise awareness about the symptoms of pancreatic cancer so that survival rates can improve. This form of cancer is almost always caught at stage four and 70 per cent of patients will die from it in the first year.
Doctors have no idea what causes pancreatic cancer. It is the least funded of all cancers, and the most unforgiving.
In 2018 Delta firefighter Thomas Haydon died of pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer at the age of 36, an extremely rare type of PC. He was too young. For the past four years our community has been honouring him with a fundraiser that warms not only our hearts but also our tummies.
Six local restaurants will donate 10 per cent of their profits to pancreatic cancer research on a specified day.
I’ve already chosen my menu items. Today I’ll pick up a filet of fish meal from McDonalds in Tsawwassen or Ladner, and on Friday I’ll enjoy a strawberry sundae from Ladner Dairy Queen.
On Saturday I’ll get a legendary burger with zoo sticks from Tsawwassen White Spot. Sunday I’ll have a caesar wrap from Chopped Leaf in Ladner or Tsawwassen.
Sounds like a great weekend of local eats while also donating to cancer research. I hope you’ll join in.
Ingrid Abbott is a freelance writer who got hungry writing this column
