Elmont’s John Groenert helps spread word about pancreatic cancer
This November, in honor of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, John Groenert of Elmont, along with an inspiring group of New York tri-state area residents, joined forces with The Lustgarten Foundation, the nation’s largest private funder of pancreatic cancer research, and Cablevision Systems Corporation, a leading media and telecommunications company, to launch the curePC Courage Project. The curePC Courage Project is a series of moving online video tributes in honor of those impacted by pancreatic cancer and loved ones lost to the disease.
This group of people all has something in common: courage. It is the courage in how they live or lived their lives, the courage in how they still battle or battled this disease, and the courage in sharing their personal stories. The curePC Courage Project is part of The Lustgarten Foundation and Cablevision’s curePC campaign, which raises public awareness of pancreatic cancer through television, print, radio and online public service announcements.
John Groenert considers himself the luckiest man alive. He is a nearly five-year survivor of pancreatic cancer, the same disease that took his mother’s life 30 years ago. That’s why John joined with The Lustgarten Foundation and Cablevision’s curePC campaign to help spread the word about pancreatic cancer. John truly believes that research advancements gives others who are facing this disease hope that one day a cure will be found.
“John’s uplifting and courageous story inspires us all. We are extremely grateful to him and to the other curePC Courage Project participants for sharing their deeply moving personal stories in order to help raise awareness about pancreatic cancer,” said Kerri Kaplan, executive director of The Lustgarten Foundation. “Pancreatic cancer is a deadly disease that is often detected too late. That’s why the Foundation is dedicated to funding research to detect the disease earlier, develop better treatments and to find a cure.”
To view and learn more about the curePC Courage Project, visit www.curePC.org.
Pancreatic cancer is swift and silent, often undetected until it’s too late, according to the foundation. The overall five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is 6 percent and most with advanced cancer die within a year.
There are no early detection tests, no effective long-term treatments and, unless the cancer is surgically removed in its earliest stages, no cure. According to published reports, It is the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
