Pancreatic cancer walk in Paramus aims to boost research for least-survivable cancer

PARAMUS — Fighting pancreatic cancer isn’t easy, especially when research is lacking compared with other types of cancer. However, community members hope to make a change this Sunday, one step at a time.

The Lustgarten Foundation’s Walk for Research will begin on Sunday morning at Bergen Community College for a one-mile loop to raise awareness and funding for pancreatic cancer, which has the worst survivability rates of all cancers.

“We try to make this a day of hope and happiness, not sadness,” said Jeanne Weber, a Paramus councilwoman who has organized the event for the last 16 years.

As of Monday night, participants had raised $90,100 toward an overall $100,000 goal. The funds will go to the Lustgarten Foundation, a nonprofit that funds pancreatic cancer research and has raised more than $225 million.

The group, which is named after Marc Lustgarten, a vice chairman of Cablevision who died from the disease, has been a “leading force in every major advancement in pancreatic cancer research,” Weber said.

Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., yet it receives less than 2% of the federally allocated funds for cancer research, she said.

“Most people only last months with this disease,” Weber said. “It’s one of the worst.”

Paramus resident Irene Maury, who is 10 months free from pancreatic cancer, will attend the walk for the first time this year. Being able to find early indicators for pancreatic cancer would be a game changer, and she hopes research will be able to make this possible.

“Other cancers have blood tests that are easier to test for, but for pancreatic, you basically feel pain and usually once you have the pain, it’s already advanced,” Maurysaid .

The group recently launched a Lustgarten Advancing Breakthrough Science program that established a $5 million partnership with the Salk Institute for Biological Studies to identify drugs to treat pancreatic cancer.

“They’re doing the most promising discoveries in the lab to treat patients right in the clinic,” Weber said. “I’m very excited about this year’s event, and I’m hoping to see the light at the end of this tunnel. It’s been a very dark one.”

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Weber knows personally how dark this tunnel can be after losing her husband, Ron, in 2005.

“He was a very healthy man. I can probably count on one hand how many days he was ever sick,” she said. “We were absolutely stunned, when he was diagnosed, to learn how little hope there was for pancreatic cancer patients.”

Nearly 75% of patients lose their lives within a year of diagnosis. The six-year survival rate is 6%, which is the lowest of all the cancers, Weber said.

“When people come to this walk, I hear horror stories,” she said. “People were diagnosed and they were gone in three months, six months, 10 days, two weeks.”

Weber was able to channel her grief into a way to help others who are diagnosed with the disease. After attending an event on Long Island for the Lustgarten Foundation following her husband's death, she wanted to bring it to New Jersey, making it the state’s first pancreatic cancer walk.

The walk will have two guest speakers: state Sen. Holly Schepisi and Dr. Rosario Ligresti from Hackensack University Medical Center, an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer and chief of the gastroenterology division at the hospital.

“He’s very well respected, and I’m absolutely thrilled that he’s going to be speaking at our walk this year,” Weber said.

For people who can’t finish the walk, there will be golf carts available to take them back. There will also be a doo-wop group singing in the morning, face painting for children, a photo booth, and complimentary food and water for participants. Shake Shack will also be serving cheeseburgers.

Check-in for the walk begins at 8:30 a.m., and the walk starts at 10 a.m. For more information about how to donate and a full list of sponsors, visit events.lustgarten.org/event/paramus-walk-for-pancreatic-cancer-research/e392157.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paramus NJ pancreatic cancer walk to help fund research