I bet PURPLE looks good on you…
Two years ago, I didn’t know how a pancreas functioned, let alone where it was located.
I didn’t know the ribbon color for pancreatic cancer or how many lives it affects. The color is purple. And, in 2023, more than 64,000 men and women were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. About 50,000 men and women will die of pancreatic cancer. (American Cancer Society)
November is Pancreatic Awareness Month where World Pancreatic Cancer Day is celebrated. “Creating a world without pancreatic cancer,” is the mission of Project Purple. The non-profit began with a son’s commitment to his father when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. If you met Dino Verelli you’d understand that when he makes a promise, he doesn’t break it.
I don’t know if any of my four children made promises or bargains with God. I only know how it impacted their lives. I hear it when I get a cold and my teenage son, Cooper, asks with concern, if I’m okay. I feel it when my twin boys, Austin & Kyle, now 26-year-old men, hug me longer then they used to. Or call more often. And, when my beautiful daughter, Ciara filmed my cancer journey for her non-fiction college film class, I watched how my cancer affected her. And I saw how selfish I was when I told my only daughter that I just wanted to die.
That’s the thing about pancreatic cancer – it thrives on despair. Any time, I start to slip into self-pity, I watch CC’s video. And, I’m reminded of my daughter and three sons, who gave me the one thing I lacked – hope.
There’s always hope. And a brighter tomorrow.
Life is beautiful, messy, and unpredictable. Writing about life and all it’s variations gives me great joy and is my perfect escape. I hope reading is your perfect escape.
Write. Edit. Repeat. Stories Matter.
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