That One Little Word That Can Change So Many Lives....

Cancer.

Specifically for this post, two words: Pancreatic Cancer. Steve Jobs is undeniably one of the most notable business men and notorious successes of our time. He was never just the CEO of "some big company", he was a strong part of the Apple brand and a driving factor behind their continued success. He has given us access to types of technology and communication many would never have dreamed of, and was continuously raising the standard.

Unfortunately, the disease that took his life far too soon is one that is not nearly as notorious or discussed. An estimated 43,140 Americans were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2010, and of those 36,800 will not survive. How is it that numbers those significant can go unnoticed?

In addition to Steve Jobs, another famous man struggled, and eventually passed away, with this disease: Randy Pausch. I am sure many of you have read, or at least heard about, The Last Lecture. Randy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a short amount of time to live. He prepared, and delivered, a "last lecture" to his students, which contained the lessons from his life that he found most valuable. Below is his original speech:

Though these to men have shown light on this disease, they are only two of the 43,000. And the number is not just limited to 43,000 a year. Each of these 43,000 people have families and friends that are helping them fight this disease with a lot of hope, determination and a little fear.

As many of you know my best friend's father was one of these fighters, who eventually lost his battle. I have written about him in previous posts like this one, and so has she: here and here. As you can see, he was an incredible man, who meant the world to so many people in his life.

A group of Concetta's friends, including myself, are once again heading to Raleigh to walk/run in the hope of raising money for a cure. We want to do everything we can to keep people from being adversely affected by this disease, and we hope you will join us. Please follow the link below and donate if you are able. No amount is too small, and they will all make a huge difference in a number of people's lives.


Click here to make a Purplestride Donation

Purplestride 2010