·    Howard H. Kayton (z"l) - our beloved stepfather, sharp-witted actuary, and mensch;

·    Felice Kurtzman (z"l) - daughter, nutritionist, mother, sister, aunt, wife

·    Howard Pilch (z"l) - pillar of TBA-LA Community, devoted to family.

·    Ruth Bader Ginsberg (z"l) - notoriously needs no introduction;

·    Aretha Franklin - R.E.S.P.E.C.T. for the Queen of Soul;

·    John Lewis on his stage IV diagnosis, "I have been in some kind of fight – for freedom, equality, basic human rights – for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now."

·    Alex Trebek - Jeopardy icon forever in our hearts.

·    Willie Garson - Gem of Sex and the City and many other roles.

Pancreatic Cancer eventually claims the lives of ALL its patients, though it cannot define their essence. Each person listed improved many lives — with kindness, generosity, wit, wisdom and positive energy!!

THE HARD FACTS: 

• Pancreatic cancer has the worst survival of all common cancers. 1 in 4 people facing a pancreatic cancer diagnosis will die within a month and 3 in 4 within one year. Survival estimates show that less than 7% of people affected 1 will survive for 5 years.
  
• Compared with many other cancers, the combined 5 year survival rate for pancreatic cancer— the percentage of all patients who are living five years after diagnosis—is 5-10% because far more people are diagnosed as stage IV when the disease has metastasized.
  
• The incidence of pancreatic cancer is higher in African Americans than in any other racial group in the U.S. The age-adjusted incidence rate for Blacks is 15.9 per 100,000 people, while for Whites it is 13.4 per 100,000 people.