Get informed about the latest pancreatic cancer research advancements and milestones, Lustgarten Foundation news, and other relevant topics
and resources for patients, survivors, and caregivers.
Expanding the Pipeline of Discovery and Advancing the Development of New Therapies
By Ellen Zimmerman The Therapeutics-Focused Research Program will advance the understanding of the causes and progression of pancreatic cancer and will identify new potential therapies. This grant program will stimulate research to stretch the limits of our current understanding of pancreatic cancer treatment; promote collaboration; and identify novel therapeutic approaches and drug targets. Fifty proposals [...]
Lustgarten-funded Research Leads to Promising New Treatment
New combination of three existing immunotherapy drugs may eliminate pancreatic tumors By Stephanie Elsea When it comes to fighting and destroying infected or diseased cells, T cells are the heroes. The body’s front line of defense, T cells are like soldiers deployed at the first sign of trouble to attack and block cancer cells. But like any hero, T cells can grow tired and lose effectiveness over time. That process is known as exhaustion. Every good military needs a general to determine [...]
Personalized Medicine: Transforming Treatment Inside the Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Research Lab at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
By Kerri Kaplan Score! As hockey teams from the United States and Canada faced off recently to compete for the famed Stanley Cup, the leading cancer organizations in the US and Canada—the Lustgarten Foundation, Stand Up to Cancer, and Pancreatic Cancer Canada team up to fund a breakaway clinical trial to assist and save pancreatic [...]
A Juneteenth Conversation:
Health Disparities in Pancreatic Cancer
By Kerri Kaplan On the heels of Juneteenth being named a federal holiday, Avery Posey, PhD, the inaugural recipient of the Lustgarten Foundation Career Development Award honoring Congressman John R. Lewis gave an excellent talk on the importance of health equity in pancreatic cancer research and treatment. Black people and African Americans experience both higher incidence and death rates from pancreatic cancer than other populations. There are a variety of causes of health disparities, including behavioral and lifestyle [...]
Life Lessons from an Unpredictable Diagnosis
By Joe Barone- “What?” It is a frustrating, one-word question many of us exclaim when something in our lives seems completely surreal. Oftentimes, it’s provoked by something so egregious and so incomprehensible that we can only muster up this first reaction in our minds. “What?” It was the response by Michael and Debbie, whose full [...]
Our Hearts are Broken with the Passing of Steve Price
Our hearts are broken at the news of the passing of Lustgarten friend, Steve Price of New York, NY. A passionate and insightful pancreatic cancer advocate and patient, Steve understood the urgency of moving the research along quickly and the importance of investing in the most innovative science with the greatest opportunity to drive real progress. Steve kept up with every advancement and promoted [...]
Lustgarten Foundation-AACR
Career Development Awards
How Chickenpox and Fruit Flies Can Help Shape a Career The inaugural winners of the Lustgarten Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards for Pancreatic Cancer Research in Honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John Robert Lewis were announced at the 2021 AACR annual meeting. For Dr. Avery Posey it was a bout with chickenpox when he was in 4th [...]
Remembering Stephen Grand
By Kerri Kaplan, President Stephen Grand: Pancreatic Cancer Fighter and Research Funder Our hearts are broken at the news of the passing of Lustgarten ally and donor, Stephen Grand of Belvedere, CA. A passionate and insightful philanthropist, as well as a pancreatic cancer patient, Steve was in the unique position of understanding the urgency of [...]
Grateful Survivor Shares His Journey in New Book
By Vanessa Steil When Joel Evans went to his endocrinologist in 2015 for what he thought would be a routine visit to monitor his diabetes, it turned into anything but. The findings were alarming—elevated blood work indicating he might be suffering from a serious illness. Joel was shocked. When the diagnosis was pancreatic cancer—a disease [...]
Research + Love =
A Cure
By Joe Barone & Laura Hull This is a story about a family who let love be their guide in the face of daunting obstacles. In 2004, when their beloved mom, Terry Romeo, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, it was the love and support of her husband of more than 50 years, Tony, and her [...]