NEIL and SHARI PIPER, founders of the Capital District Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk, plan program for Sept. 7.
ALBANY–Neil and Shari Piper, with a committee, have organized the 22nd annual Capital District Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk to benefit The Lustgarten Foundation. It is set for Sunday, Sept. 7, at the Elm Avenue Town Park in Delmar. The walk begins at 10:30 a.m. with registration starting at 8 a.m. The goal of this annual walk is to raise awareness, and to help fund Lustgarten Foundation supported research.
The Pipers organized the first Lustgarten Foundation Albany Capital District Walk for Pancreatic Cancer Research in 2004. Over a 20-year-period, Neil had lost his mother, sister, uncle and brother. “We knew Neil, and most likely our children, were genetically ‘wired’ for pancreatic cancer,” Shari explained. “We could either bury our heads in the sand or become proactive in the fight against pancreatic cancer. We chose to become involved with the Lustgarten Foundation, especially when we learned 100% of every dollar raised goes directly to pancreatic cancer research with a focus on early detection and a cure for this disease.”
This year, an estimated 67,440 Americans will receive a pancreatic cancer diagnosis and approximately 3,010 New Yorkers will die from this disease. While pancreatic cancer accounts for just 3% of all cancers annually diagnosed in the United States, it is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths and has a five-year survival rate of only 13%.
Shari Piper said, “Of special interest to The Jewish World readers, pancreatic cancer is more common in Jews than in the general population, and Ashkenazic Jews have a greater risk than Sephardic Jews. About 1 in 40 Jews in the United States will get pancreatic cancer, compared to 1 in 67 in the overall U.S. population, according to a 2011 study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. She added, “A growing body of evidence suggests that increased pancreatic cancer risk for Ashkenazic Jews has a genetic basis; these cancers are caused by inherited mutations in specific cancer-associated genes, including the familial breast cancer genes BRCA2 and BRCA1. The risk of cancer to Jews who inherit a defective copy of BRCA2 or BRCA1 varies in different families. The reason for this variation in risk is thought to be dependent on “lifestyle factors” such as smoking, obesity, dietary influences, the inheritance of other cancer susceptibility genes and an element of chance.”
Those wishing to participate in the walk are asked to sign up as an individual, join a team, or start a team at hope.lustgarten.org/events/albany. Then, individuals may donate toward a goal, fundraise and join at the event.
Information is available from Susan Jacobson, director external and community relations, 914-589-7553, or
Shari and Neil Piper, walk founders, at 518-475-1200 pcrwalkalbany@gmail.com are also available to discuss the disease and the Sept. 7 morning of hope, remembrance and action.
