Roslyn Turner knows how destructive pancreatic cancer can be—she lost both of her parents to the disease, both within months of their diagnoses.
“People need to know this cancer exists—I mean, most people don’t even know where their pancreas is,” she says. “The numbers are devastating and people are shocked by them. They don’t realize how scary and devastating [this cancer] can be, especially because it’s not easily identifiable.”
For people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the odds of survival are disheartening. According to the American Cancer Society, there are more than 45,000 new cases every year, and of those diagnosed, only 6 percent of patients are expected to survive 5 or more years.
Although this cancer is incredibly fast-acting and deadly, many people are still unaware of it—and even fewer know how to treat it. The Michael Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation hopes to bring this vicious cancer to the attention of the greater medical community, while also funding research to find a cure.
The foundation was created in 1999 by the family and friends of Michael Rolfe. A 61-year-old Highland Park resident and father of 3, Rolfe died just 2 weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. His story is not uncommon. Many of the people involved with the foundation and the Young Professionals Board have also lost loved ones to cancer, and they lean on each other for support.
Young Professionals lead the way
The Young Professionals Board of the Rolfe Foundation is a group of Chicago professionals in their 20s and 30s who raise funds and awareness for the organization, while also supporting each other through shared experiences of losing someone to cancer. Turner, a board member, says that increased support from the board has helped improve awareness of the disease and has motivated people to get involved.
“This disease affects everyone, across all ages, and for us to come together and support each other says a lot about our organization,” she says. “The board is an outlet for people in need of support, working together to support such an moving cause.”
Hope for a cure
Researchers of pancreatic cancer currently face 2 major obstacles to finding a cure. The first is funding; while pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death, it receives less than 2 percent of the National Cancer Institutes’ budget of more than $5.5 billion. The majority of funding comes from private donations and organizations such as the Rolfe Foundation. The second obstacle is a way to easily identify the disease before it has spread throughout a patient’s body.
Despite these setbacks, the Rolfe Foundation continues to support research and the families affected by the disease through funding to major hospitals.
“We support affected families as well and try to be there for them,” Rosen says. “These families are taking things on a week-to-week basis. We connect them with survivors and provide hope to people when there may not be much of any hope at all… It really is a profound connection.”
It’s the memories of lost loved ones that truly motivate everyone at the Rolfe Foundation to fight for a cure.
“I hope no one else has to suffer through what I had to go through,” Turner says. “My energy toward this work is in hope that no one else has to do this. The Rolfe Foundation is my outlet, and I work in memory of the people we’ve lost. Together we can make a difference.”
Last photo taken of Roslyn Turner and parents in 2000
Upcoming events
Cruisin’ For A Cure, July 27, 7:30 p.m., SE Corner of Michigan Ave & Wacker Drive ($109 before July 26, $120 at the door)
Cruisin’ For A Cure is a fundraiser aboard Chicago’s Leading Lady Cruise Boat, and will feature live music, a raffle, a wide selection of food, drinks, and dessert, a speaker from Johns Hopkins University, and fireworks over Navy Pier. There will also be an after party at Public House, with no lines and a complimentary drink. The event is hosted by the Young Professionals Board, and all proceeds will go towards the Rolfe Foundation and pancreatic cancer research. Make It Better Foundation is proud to be a Media Sponsor of this event.
Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation by the numbers
- There will be about 45,220 new cases of pancreatic cancer and about 38,460 deaths from the disease this year alone, as estimated by the American Cancer Society estimates that this year alone .
- 1 in 78: the lifetime risk of having pancreatic cancer.
- Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death. It is also the deadliest kind of cancer, with deaths representing 90 percent of new cases annually.
- $5 million: the amount that The Rolfe Foundation has raised to support cancer research
Photo: The Young Professionals Board hard at work but enjoying every minute!
