Madison woman takes action after mother's death
The pervasive lack of hope surrounding her mother's death from pancreatic cancer in 2001 convinced Theresa Dukovich something needs to change.
In an effort to help those who are battling the illness, and the families supporting them, Dukovich, of Madison Township, involved herself with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Having been instrumental in establishing the network's Pittsburgh affiliate, Dukovich, along with her fellow volunteers, are preparing to host their eighth annual fundraiser, dubbed the Pancreatic Cancer Action Center Network PurpleStride Pittsburgh 5K.
The event, which takes place Sunday at Allegheny County's North Park swimming pool in McCandless, includes a 5K run and walk and 1 mile walk.
Dukovich recalled talking with a doctor when her mother, Rose Marie Pendro, received her diagnosis in November 2000. The doctor's news that few treatment options existed left her floored.
"Her oncologist pulled my sister and me aside and said, 'Do you realize how serious this is⢠I only expect her to live three to six months,'" Dukovich said.
The lack of positives didn't keep Pendro from fighting. She endured chemotherapy, which Dukovich said "worked for a while."
When it became apparent the treatments wouldn't kill the cancer, Dukovich said, her mother, who still wanted to battle the disease, asked her doctor, "Well, what are we going to try next?"
"I'll never forget the doctor saying, 'I have no other options for you,'" Dukovich said.
In June 2001, Pendro died.
"I can't even imagine somebody saying, 'I have no options for you,' when you're willing to fight," Dukovich said. "After that, I decided, 'I have to get involved.'"
That's when Dukovich contacted the Pancreatic Action Network and established the local affiliate.
She said the inaugural 5K in 2004 attracted 100 walkers and raised about $8,000.
Nearly 1,000 people are registered for this year's event, which already has raised $90,000, Dukovich said.
Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive cancer whose symptoms show up late, according to Dr. Nadia Naumova, a pathologist who practices at Allegheny Valley Hospital and also in Kittanning.
"By the time the diagnosis is made, the treatment options are few and far between," Naumova said.
And unfortunately, she said, no treatment advancements have been made within the past 20 years, and the survival rate is low.
"It's striking that it's been, not neglected, but pushed aside," she said. "There are no survivors to push for policies as compared to, let's say, breast cancer."
Naumova, who will attend Sunday's event, got involved as a way to help spread the word about pancreatic cancer.
Dukovich said the attention being paid to pancreatic cancer has grown because movie star Patrick Swayze and Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch, who gained fame from his "Last Lecture," died from it.
The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, which has Swayze's wife as its spokeswoman, is trying to get Congress to approve legislation that requires a federal investment in research and treatment of the cancer, Dukovich said.
About pancreatic cancer
• In 2010, more than 43,000 Americans were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and more than 36,000 died.
• The five-year survival rate is 6 percent " a number that has remained largely unchanged over the last 40 years.
• 75 percent die within the first year.
• 94 percent of patients die within five years of being diagnosed.
• 2 percent of the National Cancer Institute's federal research funding is allocated to pancreatic cancer.
Source: Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
Coming up
What: PurpleStride Pittsburgh Pick Up the Pace 2011 walk for pancreatic cancer research, a 5k run/walk and 1 mile walk
When: Registration begins at 8 a.m., run/walk begins at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
Where: North Park swimming pool lot, McCandless
Details: To register, visit www.purplestride.org
