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Support Organizations
– These organizations have a lot of resources and are dedicated to helping patients understand their diagnosis and how to narrow down their options. Take a look at these organizations and the information they provide.
Research & Trials
– Here you will find some of the latest research regarding pancreatic cancer. Also, some trials that have been brought to our attention are located here.
News Articles
– Some very interesting work is being done in the pancreatic cancer space. Check out what we have been reading about and see what progress is being made!
Local Support Groups

Support Organizations

Project Purple

Project Purple is a Connecticut-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created to raise awareness, support patients and families affected by the disease, and fund research efforts to defeat pancreatic cancer. They are dedicated to providing financial aid to patients in treatment for pancreatic cancer. They assist with medical and everyday living expenses so patients can focus on the fight. Project Purple supports patients struggling with medical, pharmaceutical, and everyday living expenses related to their fight against pancreatic cancer.

Contact: Marci@projectpurple.org

Website link: https://www.projectpurple.org/ways-we-help/pancreatic-cancer-patient-financial-aid/

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network – Los Angeles, CA

New diagnosis? Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is always a great start. We have a wonderful relationship with the organization, which has the widest range of resources in the country. They can help to place a patient if they have seen their specialist and “know their tumor”.
Please Contact:
Ashley Ostrega, Area Director (Los Angeles/Southern CA), Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
aostrega@pancan.org
1500 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 200
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Direct: 310-706-3301
Office: 310-725-0025

Hirshberg Foundation – Los Angeles, CA

Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing pancreatic cancer research, and providing information, resources, and support to pancreatic cancer patients and their families.
The Foundation began by funding two projects at the University of California, Los Angeles. The Ronald S. Hirshberg Translational Pancreatic Cancer Research Laboratory and the Ronald S. Hirshberg Chair in Translational Pancreatic Cancer Research were funded with a commitment to support the research programs until the National Institute of Health grant recognition became available.
Please Contact:
Amy Reiss, Patient and Family Support
amy@pancreatic.org
-OR-
Friend of POR, Sarah Banks, Development Manager
sbanks@pancreatic.org
(310) 473-5121

Nikki Mitchell Foundation – Nashville, TN

The Nikki Mitchell Foundation is an organization Pants Off Racing has been in contact with since 2017. They are a direct assistance program working with hospitals and patients to place patients under the best care possible. They have strong ties with Vanderbilt, John Hopkins and Penn State University doctors. They are a resource for patients and families looking to get individual support and attention.
In December 2010, Nikki was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a possible three-month prognosis. Taking the bull by the horns she consulted with renowned medical professionals around the country and her zeal for life never diminished. After thirty-one months of battling this disease, Nikki embarked upon the greatest adventure of her life on July 9th, 2013.
Her last dream was to save others from the devastating disease of pancreatic cancer. Caring about Early Detection Research led Nikki to participate, upon her death, in a floating tumor cell research program facilitated by Johns Hopkins Hospital. Nikki’s donation was the first to contribute a vast amount of data to the scientists. We invite you to be a part of this dream and its realization by joining with the Nikki Mitchell Foundation (NMF) to find a means for early detection and the ultimate cure for pancreatic cancer.
Please Contact:
Rhonda Miles, Founder & President
615-982-6802
rhonda@nikkimitchellfoundation.org

Pickles Group

Their mission is to provide free peer-to-peer support and resources for kids and teens impacted by their parent or guardian’s cancer.
Having a parent with cancer can be a lonely, isolating experience. Pickles Group creates thriving communities of kids supporting kids whose parents have cancer. Pickles Kids strengthen resilience, have fun with friends who get them, and heal along the way.
One in twenty kids will experience a parent’s cancer diagnosis before they graduate high school. With more than 3 million children and teens in the U.S. who are affected, there is an overwhelming and unmet need for the support we provide.

Send It Foundation

Send It is an expression that inspires positivity, enthusiasm, pushing boundaries and living life to the fullest. Born from the adventure sports community, Send It is what we say to encourage each other to go big and give it your all. Whether it’s dropping into a couloir on skis, paddling out to the lineup, or reaching for the next hold on the rock wall — go for it. Send It Foundation provides free outdoor adventures for young adult cancer survivors.

Research & Trials Updates

Breakthrough: Studies Show Benefit of Treatments Before and After Surgery

On day four of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, results of two critically important phase III clinical trials were announced describing treatment options for pancreatic cancer patients who may be eligible for surgery.

Neoadjuvant therapy refers to treatment provided prior to surgical removal of a tumor, and adjuvant therapy is treatment given after surgery. To learn more about the annual ASCO meeting and its updates about both neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment regimens, click here.

Lustgarten Foundation: Study Shows Blood Test Can Detect 8 Types of Cancer

Lustgarten Foundation funded researchers at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins have designed a multi-analyte blood test called CancerSEEK that can detect the presence of pancreatic cancer as part of a panel of eight common cancers — pancreas, ovary, liver, stomach, esophagus, colorectum, lung and breast — as reported in the online edition of Science today.
This study lays the foundation for a single blood screening test for multiple cancers that could be offered as part of routine medical checks. The estimated cost for the test will eventually be less than $500, which is comparable to or lower than other screening tests for single cancers, such as a colonoscopy.
While this is a significant step forward, to validate the test and demonstrate that it can save lives, prospective studies of all cancer types in a large population will be required, which the Lustgarten Foundation is currently helping to fund. Learn more about the study.
We look forward to keeping you apprised of our progress on this and other important research projects.
A Phase IIa clinical proof-of-concept study of RX-3117 in combination with Abraxane
Abraxane is the chemo drug given to almost all patients, including Nancy Pants, until their body resists it.

Diet & Nutrition Tips for Pancreatic Cancer

To get the right kind of nutritional advice for pancreatic cancer patients and survivors, as well as for prevention, we reached out to Registered Dietitian Angela Hummel, a specialist of oncology nutrition. Read the article and see what Angela says!

Honor Health Research Institute

The Honor Health Research Institute excels in bringing cutting edge pancreas cancer treatment to the bedside. With the leadership of physicians Dr. Daniel Von Hoff and Dr. Erkut Borazanci and Nurse Practitioner Gayle Jameson, they are changing the face of pancreas cancer cure and survivorship. Their trials are for all stages of pancreas cancer from locally advanced/borderline resectable to Stage IV disease. And for individuals who have received no treatment to multiple lines of treatment. Clinical trials can fit anywhere in a person’s treatment journey. Check out their trials here. (updated site coming soon)

Honor Health, aka Virginia Piper Cancer Institute, has many trials for people with pancreatic cancer. We encourage you to reach out and learn more. For more information call Clinical Trials Nurse Navigator Joyce Schaffer 480-323-1364 or Joyce.Schaffer@honorhealth.com.

Excel Diagnostics

Excel Diagnostics is doing a trial that is very unique. They are the only place in the US that is using this drug/liquid radiation to fight pancreatic cancer. There are 2 categories of pancreatic cancer – endocrine and exocrine. Most pancreatic cancers are exocrine cancers. This radiation is for the less common type of pancreatic cancer, endocrine. The current results are encouraging, and they have been been treating people with this for the past decade in Europe.
Learn more about Excel Endocrine Research
Contacts:
For further information regarding this treatment please contact Ms. Susan Cork at scork@exceldiagnostics.com (phone: 713-341- 3203) or Ms. Amber Gonzales at agonzales@exceldiagnostics.com (Phone: 713-341-3246)

National Cancer Institute – Trial Database

NCI-supported trials are offered at locations across the United States and this is a great general tool to see what is available.

NanoKnife may be a minimally invasive option for some pancreatic cancer patients with an inoperable tumor that is typically less than three centimeters. Learn more here.

New Successful Trial @ University of Michigan

The trial involved adding an oral agent known as AZD 1775 to chemotherapy and radiation. In laboratory studies, it did a better job killing pancreatic cancer cells.

The research study was for patients exactly like Moreno, whose pancreatic cancer is extending locally beyond the pancreas, but not to other parts of the body, and whose tumors could not be removed surgically.

Articles

Keytruda: A cancer drug’s broad swipe

It’s been a long time coming: a cancer drug that slays disease based not on the organ where it originated, but on its DNA. In May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) greenlighted the first such treatment, called pembrolizumab. Manufactured by Merck and branded Keytruda, the drug, which had already been approved to treat melanoma and a handful of other tumor types, can now be prescribed for any advanced solid tumor in children or adults, on one condition: The cancer cells must carry a defect that goes by the awkward name of “mismatch repair deficiency.” This means that whether the cells turned cancerous in the pancreas, the colon, the thyroid, or any one of a dozen other tissues, they are riddled with mutations in genes that repair DNA.
Based partly on this work, FDA gave its stamp of approval—one that oncologists hope will be the first of many for this cancer-fighting strategy.
Learn More Now
References:
D. Le, et. al., PD-1 blockade in tumors with mismatch-repair deficiency, The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 372, p. 2509, 30 May 2015
D. Le et al., Mismatch-repair deficiency predicts response of solid tumors to PD-1 blockade, Science, 10.1126/science.aan6733, 8 June 2017
Source Link: http://vis.sciencemag.org/breakthrough2017/finalists/#cancer-drug

FDA approved Lutathera^®

As of January 26, 2018, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved Lutathera® (lutetium-177 (177Lu)–Dotatate) for the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), including pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs), that express somatostatin receptors.
Patients who were treated with Lutathera in the clinical trial had a 79% reduction in risk of disease progression or death, as compared to patients treated with the standard of care.
PNETs make up about 6% of all pancreatic cancer diagnoses, and the majority of cases express somatostatin receptors.
However, please note that Lutathera is not approved, nor proven to be effective, in the treatment of adenocarcinoma – the most common form of pancreatic cancer.
LINK: https://www.pancan.org/

Local Groups

Support Groups – Southern California

Benjamin Center

Pancreatic Cancer Networking Groups
When: Fourth Monday of each month, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Where: 1990 South Bundy Drive, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Contact: Karen Wurtzel
Phone: 310-314-2598
Website: www.cancersupportcommunitybenjamincenter.org
Note: This group welcomes patients, caregivers and family members.

Redondo Beach

Carcinoid and Neuroendocrine Tumor Networking Group
When: First Saturday of each month, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Where: 109 West Torrance Boulevard, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Contact: Sharon Feigenbaum
Phone: 310-376-3550
Website: www.cancersupportredondobeach.org
Note: Neuroendocrine carcinoma is a rare type of pancreatic cancer; this group is not intended for patients with adenocarcinoma, which is the most common type.

Providence Holy Cross Medical Center

Pancreatic Cancer Support Group
When: Third Thursday of each month, 5 – 7 p.m.
Where: North Building Conference Room C, 15031 Rinaldi St., Mission Hills, CA 91345
Contact: Bobby Eghablieh, MD, FACS, Pancreatic Surgeon & Vivian Gonzalez, NP, Oncology Nurse Navigator
Phone: 818-496-7736
Website: www.providence.org/holycross
Note: Open to pancreatic cancer patients and their loved ones.

Resources