In Memory of Joan, June and Lisa.

This year will be my 19th LA Cancer Challenge race, benefiting the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer. As most of you know, I lost my Mom, Joan Tucker, to this devastating disease in July, 34 years ago. One of my dearest friends, Lisa Berger lost her life to this disease at the young age of 45 years old in July, 18 years ago. Along with my Mom and Lisa, I lost my mother-in-law, June Ellin, 17 years ago August to other circumstances. These 3 women have touched my life in different ways and I continually dedicate my run to all of them.

This year marks the 29th anniversary of the LA Cancer Challenge, which takes place on Sunday, October 25th at UCLA.

To date, I have individually raised $427,329 for the foundation. In 2023, the foundation honored me at the race for being a consistent top fundraiser. In 2024 a plaque was placed at the UCLA official donor wall at the Hirshberg Foundation labs, in tribute to my Mom, Joan Tucker.

I raised $29,536 in 2025, please help me surpass that amount this year and get to $40,000. I know my mother is looking down and smiling on all the fundraising efforts I have made to find early detection and a cure for this devastating disease.

In supporting my goal, you are helping the mission of the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer, which is to find a cure for pancreatic cancer. The Hirshberg Foundation is the first foundation in the world created specifically for pancreatic cancer research and to date has raised $11.3 million for research and education. Currently pancreatic cancer is still the third-ranked cancer related deaths in the US among both men and women surpassing breast cancer and has the highest mortality rate of all cancers. In 2026 an estimated 67,530 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and more than 52,740 will die from this disease. Despite this, the federal government invests less money in pancreatic cancer than any other leading cancer. For all stages combined, the 5-year relative survival rate is still only 13%. Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer death largely because there are no detection tools to diagnose the disease in its' early stages when surgical removal of the tumor is still possible.

This year, there has been a major treatment breakthrough for pancreatic cancer. Daraxonrasib, now available under the name Rasonque, has become the first RAS inhibitor approved by the FDA for cancer therapy, offering a new treatment option for certain patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Research continues to advance but only because we continue to fund it which is why Hirshberg Foundation is so important to support.

The proceeds raised by the LA Cancer Challenge, support the Hirshberg Foundation seed grants as well as patient and family support programs. Hirshberg Foundation Seed Grant recipients are already investigating how RAS/KRAS-targeted therapies could be made even more effective from overcoming treatment resistance and identifying promising combination therapies to exploring their potential role in pancreatic cancer prevention. Researchers are studying an experimental vaccine designed to target mutant KRAS in people at high risk for pancreatic cancer.

I plea with you all to support this very important cause that is increasingly affecting more of us every year. Early diagnosis and more treatment options to increase survival rate is imperative for pancreatic cancer. Each seed grant funded is a steppingstone to saving lives.

You can join me at the race to run or walk on October 25th, along with sponsoring me. If you wish to mail a check, please make check payable to "The Hirshberg Foundation" and mail it to 2990 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Suite 300C, Los Angeles, CA 90064. Please include my name in the memo line of your check to ensure that I receive credit for your donation. The foundation’s tax ID number is 954640311.

I am humbled by your consistent support and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your "never give up" attitude while we search for the cure! My commitment to fight for a cure is a promise I will continue to keep.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Warmest Regards,

Nancy Ellin