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Health & Fitness

The Cancer that Killed Steve Jobs and My Mother: Silent, Deadly, in the Background

Pancreatic cancer is that dreaded 'c' word. It is one of the most deadly cancers, claiming the life of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, my mother and many more.

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, who dedicated his life to running his company, died Wednesday, reportedly of pancreatic cancer. The source of his cancer was kept a secret until the announcement of his death.

The reality is that because other than a strong link to smoking, there are no other particular risk factors. It strikes in the young 40s and in the early 70s—no one is immune. This disease appears unstoppable once it rears its ugly head. Something has to be done.

The first time I heard the words "pancreatic cancer" was in April 1991, when Michael Landon, beloved actor on Little House on the Prairie, announced his battle with this disease that had metastasized to his liver and lymph nodes. He died less than three months later at only 54 years old.

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The next time I would hear those words was in mid March 2006. Diagnosed stage IV, my own mother was facing a battle of her life at the young age of 67.

Metastasising to her liver, we all knew this was a death sentence. It was never a question of "if" she would die. It was a matter of "when." While she fought the good fight, and I cannot emphasize enough the strength, courage and determination she had, she lost her battle after 17 months in August 2007. And I still miss her every day.

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As the fourth leading cause of cancer death, there is still so much unknown about this particular type of cancer that makes it so deadly. Unlike preventive breast and prostate checks, there are no symptoms to the disease until you are in the latter stages 

If it is detected early, it is usually in the process of aggressive testing, exploratory surgery, or while treating a different ailment.  Only five percent of all pancreatic cancer patients survive five years. Typically, the survival rate is less than 2 years.

The greatest organization working tirelessly to help find early detection markers and more effective treatment is the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

It was only six months after my mom's diagnosis that famed professor and "Final Lecture" speaker Randy Pausch was also diagnosed, which gave this particular cancer a voice for the first time.

Randy succumbed to the disease, which had metastasised to his lungs and lymph nodes, about 22 months later at age 47.

Actor Patrick Swayze was also diagnosed in Stage IV with liver metastisation in January 2008 and died only 19 months later a few weeks after turning 57 years old.

Not that any cancer is good--and no cancer 'deserves' to find a cure more than any other, but I still find it frustrating and unacceptable that pancreatic cancer does not get the attention or funding like that of more high-profile cancers, like breast and lung. 

With the recent pancreatic cancer death of a dear man of God from our church last month--again at the much too young age of only 73--the issue has resurfaced for me. Why is this cancer, which has gained its own notoriety in recent years, so rarely talked about? How many more young people, famous or not, have to die before it gets the attention it deserves?

If pancreatic cancer has touched your life, please get involved. Support Pancreatic Cancer Action Network through fund-raising, advocacy, donating time or money. We need them to find early detection and to find a cure; and they need our support to do it.

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