In Honor Of My Grandmother: Fighting Pancreatic Cancer

Two years ago, my grandmother, Margaret Lafata, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 82.   I have always considered her a winner in the fight as she survived almost 2two  years with this cancer, and the doctors were amazed by this.

I often would say it was because of her strong Sicilian life that led her to be able to beat it like she did.  The fact of the matter is that I remember when she was first diagnosed. I made it a point to travel to Detroit and visit her with my wife and kids, We got to see her on several occasions and called whenever we could.

A lot of times I remember the conversations were just about everyday things, and that is how she fought it. As she once told me, "What are you going to do by dwelling on it?" During this time, I had the chance of talking with pancreatic cancer research doctors and found out numerous things about it, but the fact remains it's a tough one to catch early and fighting it is an uphill battle.

While my normal blogs are about human interest, entertainment, and other things, I would like to take a serious note and say to those who are going through the fight to keep fighting, and for those that have friends or family who lost the fight, their legacy still continues.  Never forget those who may have forged the path towards to a cure and in living each day, you will be victorious.

The photo above is a rare one from one of the visits with my grandmother. We happened to take this picture just before leaving Detroit to head back home. It's one of the few with all of us in it: my wife,  son, daughter (their stuffed animals too), and of course, my winner of life, Margaret Lafata.

If you want to find out more information on pancreatic cancer research or about it, I highly recommend the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network website.