Sheila Kasselman, Sky’s founder, discovered her diabetes, at age 66, two months before she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Sudden Onset of Diabetes is something we absolutely need to talk about. Read this great article in the New York Times to educate yourself on the subject.
“Pancreatic cancer is a nasty, stubborn killer that has thus far defied medicine’s best efforts at early diagnosis and curative treatment.
Although pancreatic cancer is a relatively rare cancer, it is so deadly it is now on track to become the country’s second leading cause of cancer-related deaths by 2040. Currently it accounts for about 3 percent of all cancers and 7 percent of cancer deaths. Overall, only one person in 10 diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survives five years. A cure is almost always a lucky accident, when the cancer is detected at an early, symptom-free stage during an unrelated abdominal scan or surgery and the tumor can be surgically removed.”
The article goes on to talk about a project that Sky Foundation has funded ($100,000) to the beginning of PanCAN’s project mentioned in this article:
“Another effort begun last summer by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, called the Early Detection Initiative for Pancreatic Cancer, will enroll more than 12,000 participants with elevated blood sugar levels and new-onset diabetes. Half will have periodic blood tests and undergo abdominal imaging based on their age, body weight and blood glucose levels to look for evidence of early pancreatic cancer, while the others will serve as controls.
The goal of such studies is to identify biological markers, like certain genes or proteins excreted by the tumor, that could be used in screening tests to indicate the presence of cancer when it could still potentially benefit from surgery. Alas, the results are not likely to be known before 2030, if then.”