To help accelerate early detection of pancreatic cancer, the PRECEDE Foundation will host its inaugural Light the Way Gala on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at Tribeca 360º in New York City.
The event will unite leading scientists, philanthropists, patients, and advocates to raise critical funds for one of the deadliest and most difficult-to-detect cancers, with a current five-year survival rate of just 13 percent.
Funds raised will directly support the PRECEDE Consortium’s groundbreaking work to accelerate early detection tools, improve screening, and expand patient-focused programs that have the potential to increase survival rates to 50% within the next decade.
“When someone says they have pancreatic cancer, the room often falls silent. It’s fast-moving, painful, and notoriously difficult to detect early. But thanks to the PRECEDE Consortium, that silence doesn’t have to mean hopelessness,” said Dr. Diane Simeone, director of Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego and founding director of the PRECEDE Consortium. “For decades, pancreatic cancer survival rates have barely budged, but we now have the knowledge and the global network to change that.”
PRECEDE is a groundbreaking global initiative reimagining how pancreatic cancer is detected and treated. With more than 9,000 high-risk individuals enrolled across 60 academic institutions in the United States and worldwide, PRECEDE is rapidly expanding to meet a global health crisis head-on.
Most countries still lack routine screening or coordinated data-sharing. PRECEDE is working to change that through centralized data, open science, and international collaboration.
Guests at The Light the Way Gala will enjoy a dinner program, live auction, and powerful patient stories, with Emmy-winning journalist Kate Bolduan serving as emcee and Katie Couric presenting an award. Honorees include:
Catalyst for Change Award – Ambry Genetics Corporation
Nobility in Science Award – Dr./ Raymond C. Wadlow
Legacy Awards – Jeffrey Johnson, Esq. & Jonathan Morris, Esq.
PRECEDE Leadership and Compassionate Care Award – Jessica Everett
Voice of Hope – Ivy Duneier
“When I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020, I was fortunate that it was caught early enough for surgery and treatment. That early detection saved my life,” said Jamie Brickell, president of PRECEDE Foundation’s Board of Directors. “Too often, patients don’t get that chance. PRECEDE is working to change that reality by making early detection the norm rather than the exception. This Gala is about giving families hope, supporting the science that can transform outcomes, and ensuring that more patients live to tell their stories.”
The inaugural gala is made possible by the generous support of sponsors. Ambry Genetics is the Presenting Sponsor. Inova is a Friend Sponsor. Eversheds Sutherland and Troutman Pepper Locke are Community Sponsors. Other sponsors include Sonny Kalsi, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Craig & Shari Tendler, RJK, Deb & Scott Berger, Eversheds Sutherland, Inova Schar Cancer, Davidson Goldin, Mandeep & Paresh Trivedi, Ridge Real Estate Partners, Michael Gershenson Family, Pryor Cashman, Brookfield, Ahead, Citizens, Ivy & Marc Duneier, Salesforce, The Hershey Family, Immuneering, The Emily Couric Leadership Forum, Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, The Johnson Family, Jamie Brickell and more.
To purchase tickets, become a sponsor, or make a donation, visit the PRECEDE Foundation here.
The PRECEDE Consortium is an international network of more than 60 academic medical centers working together in a unique collaborative approach to increase the survival rate for pancreatic cancer through early detection. Since opening in 2020, PRECEDE Consortium sites have assembled the largest high-risk cohort of nearly 10,000 individuals with family history or genetic risk factors for pancreatic cancer, with longitudinal clinical data and biospecimen acquisition and tracking. PRECEDE is headquartered at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego, one of only 57 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation.
For more information about the PRECEDE Consortium, please contact Jessica Forres at jessica@ekkopr.com.
Foundation to host gala to accelerate early detection of pancreatic cancer
By Long Island Press
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Katie Couric
(Photo by David Shankbone/Source: Wikipedia Commons;CC 3.0)
