Tuesday, November 20, 2012
The push for Pink is over, but in November awareness and support groups are championing another cause: The fight to find a cure for pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly forms of the disease.
How do you draw attention to an often overlooked but lethal illness? One Burnsville man and his compatriots came up with a eye-catching way of raising awareness. In late September, survivor Juan Falcon lit the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis with purple light to spread awareness for the the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Spectacle aside, the real push starts this month, November, which has been officially dubbed National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month by Mayor Elizabeth Kautz. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Unlike many other forms of cancer, which have benefited from recent research, survivor rates remain low, in the single digits. According to PanCan rep Nancy Marian, the …
Monday, September 24, 2012
Minnesota's most famous bridge will glow purple in honor of those with pancreatic cancer, a disease with a five-year survival rate in the single digits.
This Sunday, the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis will be ablaze with amethyst-colored light, a striking display meant to draw attention to a profilic but low-profile killer: pancreatic cancer. The spectacle is the work of the Twin Cities affiliate of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and Juan Falcon, a Burnsville resident and six year survivor. Falcon was tasked with getting approval from the Minnesota Department of Transportation for the display. "I was excited to be able to use this significant bridge as a way to create awareness for pancreatic cancer," Falcon said. Falcon is one of the lucky few. Though the cancer is the fourth most common in the U.S. there are few treatment options and no early detection methods. About 74 …
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The Marians have already lost one family member to the disease. Now the family is praying for a cure for their two teen sons.
They say bad luck comes in threes. It’s a maxim that Nancy Marian can attest to. Three generations of the Burnsville woman’s family suffer from Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia, a rare syndrome that puts them at high risk of pancreatic cancer. The disorder afflicts just one in 30,000 people. So far, pancreatic cancer has claimed Marian’s mother and tumors have appeared in two of her three sons. Doctors have told Marian it may be only a matter of time before tumors develop on her own pancreas. Nevertheless, Marian counts herself among the lucky few. Most patients afflicted with pancreatic cancer are diagnosed in the final stages of the disease, when it is already too late. For this reason, pancreatic cancer takes a heavy toll. According to the …
Jeanne Scheler
9:15 am on Thursday, October 4, 2012
As a 14 month survivor of Stage III non operable Pancreatic Cancer seeing the bridge turned purple was a very moving and inspirational act for me. Thanks Mr. Falcon and God bless you with your successful fight against this disease. more ›