Tracey and Bob Early are committed to creating a team of volunteers who will be dedicated to raising the funds necessary to help find a cure for pancreatic cancer in memory of Lauren Vande Vaarst.
When my sister was first diagnosed in May 2014 with pancreatic cancer no one in my entire family had any idea what this meant. We had so much to learn. Besides the wonderful support of her doctor, Dr. Eileen O'Reilly and her staff at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center(MSKCC), we learned a lot from various organizations - www.pancan.org and the www.lustgartenfoundation.org. I made a promise to my sister from the beginning when we learned of her diagnosis that we would never stop trying to find a cure for pancreatic cancer. During her 20 months of treatment, Dr.O'Reilly was always honest with us and told us that there is not a cure but it is treatable. Many people believe that when you are diagnosed that you only have 6 or 9 months to live, My big sister proved them wrong! She lived 20 months from date of diagnosis and had many good months during that period. Everyone in our family was amazed at her courage and how much she achieved. She never gave up. She believed that she could beat this horrible disease. The entire MSKCC loved her energy when we came in for visits. When Lauren was first diagnosed we were told that the number of people who were affected by pancreatic cancer was approximately 46,000 per year. This number has risen to over 53,000 in just three years. In the last year, we personally have known many close to us that have lost loved ones or were recently diagnosed. The numbers are growing too rapidly. Over the last few years, we have raised money to support Dr O' Reilly's research to fight pancreatic cancer and have supported the other organizations as well. The only way to find a CURE is continue the research which needs funding. This is our second year that we will be participating in Purple Stride NJ in memory of our Lauren and everyone else who has been affected by pancreatic cancer, our family is walking (or running) to raise money to hopefully find a CURE for pancreatic cancer!
To raise money to find a cure for pancreatic cancer.