Twenty years ago, a close friend’s sister and mother were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and both succumbed to it. That was my introduction to this dreadful disease and I committed to join them in supporting the Hirshberg Foundation in an effort to find a cure. Over the years, one of my best friends, and other friends and acquaintances have battled pancreatic cancer, all losing the battle!!! ☹

Pancreatic cancer is a vicious disease and it has nearly doubled in two decades. It now claims more lives in the US than breast cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer, ovarian cancer, lymphoma or leukemia. It has become an epidemic so please help us do something about it. The proceeds of this event are funneled directly to pancreatic cancer researchers in the form of seed grants and you can see exactly where your donations go (this is where the money went last year: http://pancreatic.org/research/seed-grant-program/seed-grant-recipients/). The Foundation funds as many seed grants as possible but many robust and promising grants are passed over, due to a lack of funding, and for every grant that is passed over, hope for understanding this deadly disease and hope for a cure.