Northwell, Lustgarten expand sponsorship to fight pancreatic cancer
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NEW HYDE PARK, NY – In its second year of collaboration with the Lustgarten Foundation, Northwell Health Cancer Institute announced today that it will be the exclusive hospital sponsor for the Foundation’s four New York metropolitan area walks and other fundraising events in 2020.
Northwell will again team with Lustgarten in supporting its community walks, which together drew more than 10,000 participants with the goal of increasing awareness about pancreatic cancer, promoting early detection, treatment advances and innovative research. In 2019, the Lustgarten walks sponsored by Northwell raised nearly $2 million for pancreatic cancer research.
About 57,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020 alone. Because pancreatic cancer tends to spread silently before diagnosis, it has one of the highest mortality rates. It’s expected that 47,000 people will die from the disease in the United States this year.
“With such low survival rates, it’s critical for Northwell to collaborate with the Lustgarten Foundation and experts in the oncology field to increase public awareness and move forward with novel research aimed at offering more pancreatic cancer clinical trials with the shared goal of finding a cure for this insidious disease,” said Richard Barakat, MD, physician-in- chief and director of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute, and senior vice president of the health system’s Cancer Service Line.
In June 2019, Northwell’s Cancer Institute launched its Pancreatic Cancer Center. The center features a multidisciplinary team of surgical, medical and radiation oncologists, gastroenterologists, interventional radiologists, pathologists, endocrinologists, genetic counselors, social workers and nutritionists, along with pain management and palliative specialists.
Northwell will sponsor the following Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Research Walks in 2020:
- March 29, New York City;
- April 26, Westchester;
- September 13, Staten Island;
- October 4, Long Island.
These walks bring together patients and survivors with family and friends for a day of hope and remembrance, where the community shares in a common goal of raising awareness and funding for pancreatic cancer. The family-friendly events, which include food, raffles and prizes from vendors, offer an empowering experience to those who are battling the disease and a support system for survivors.
“We are proud to align with Northwell Health again on our Lustgarten Walks and other signature special events,” said Kerri Kaplan, president and CEO of the Lustgarten Foundation. “Sponsorships, like the one from Northwell, ensure that we can continue making advancements that are already improving patient outcomes and enabling some patients to live longer. Our collaboration with Northwell extends to working together on a clinical trial that will bring new hope to patients. Together, we stand committed to changing the survival statistics for this disease.”