Living with Pancreatic Cancer

Living with Pancreatic Cancer

What is it like to live with pancreatic cancer?. Randi Ervin was diagnosed with a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET) in her 30s. Even after a total pancreatectomy she remains in treatment to keep the tumor in check.   In the years since her diagnosis she has become an insulin-dependent diabetic, lost her mother to pancreatic cancer, and built a full life as a health equity advocate and volunteer with PanCAN's Survivor Council and Health Equity Committee. In this episode, host Alisyn Camerota talks with Randi about what survivorship actually looks like a decade out — the monthly octreotide injections, the annual DOTATATE scans, the diabetes management, and the emotional weight of being both a patient and a caregiver. They also discuss why sharing your diagnosis with a wider circle can matter, how health equity shapes who gets to access good care, and why the five-year mark is not, in fact, the finish line. For more survivor stories, visit letswinpc.org.  For patient services and support, visit pancan.org. PancChat is produced in collaboration with Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer and PanCAN. PancChat sponsored by Revolution Medicines.

AI and Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer

What if artificial intelligence could catch pancreatic cancer before a radiologist's eye does? In this episode of PancChat, host Alisyn Camerota speaks with Dr. Elliot Fishman, professor in the Departments of Radiology and Radiological Science, Oncology, and Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine, member of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, and co-principal investigator of the FELIX Project for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer. Dr. Fishman shares how AI-powered imaging tools are being trained to detect tumors as small as two centimeters — and why that capability could save tens of thousands of lives a year. He also discusses the FELIX 2.0 project, the challenge of scaling AI across different hospital systems, and how AI is already transforming cancer care beyond pancreatic cancer, from mammography to drug development. PancChat is a collaboration between Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer [https://bit.ly/4aTSz8m] and PanCAN [https://bit.ly/40QANge]. The PancChat Podcast is sponsored by Revolution Medicines.  Resources: Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer [https://bit.ly/4aTSz8m]  PanCAN [https://bit.ly/40QANge]  Let’s Win Clinical Trial Finder [https://bit.ly/4r0tVYg]  PanCAN Clinical Trial Finder [https://bit.ly/46qzJ6c]  PanCAN Patient Services [https://bit.ly/4u5bBAc]

Screening and Surveillance

Pancreatic cancer is most often caught late — but that is starting to change. In this episode of PancChat, host Alisyn Camerota sits down with Dr. Raymond Wadlow, a gastrointestinal oncologist at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute and director of the High Risk Pancreatic Clinic, to talk about what screening and surveillance actually mean for people at elevated risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Dr. Wadlow walks through who qualifies for screening, which genetic mutations and family history patterns matter, and what the current imaging protocols look like. He also explains the promise and limitations of blood-based tests in development, the challenges of interval cancers, and how the PRECEDE [https://bit.ly/4dtlK28]consortium — now spanning 64 sites worldwide — is working to prove that finding this disease earlier saves lives. PancChat is a collaboration between Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer [https://bit.ly/4aTSz8m] and PanCAN [https://bit.ly/40QANge]. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Immunotherapy and Personalized Treatments

So far, immunotherapy has been a game-changer in other cancers but not pancreatic cancer. Is that finally changing? In this episode of PancChat, host Alisyn Camerota sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Jaffee, deputy director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and chief medical advisor of the Lustgarten Foundation [http://lustgarten.org]. Dr. Jaffee breaks down the science behind pancreatic cancer's resistance to immunotherapy, the promise of cancer vaccines, and the emergence of KRAS inhibitors as a new class of targeted therapies. After thirty years in the field, she shares why she is more optimistic than ever. PancChat is a collaboration between Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer [http://letswinpc.org] and PanCAN [https://pancan.org].

Pancreatic Cancer Vaccines

In this episode of PancChat, host Alisyn Camerota sits down with Dr. Vinod Balachandran, a surgeon-scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the founding director of the Olayan Center for Cancer Vaccines, to take a closer look at vaccines being developed to prevent recurrence of pancreatic cancer. Dr. Balachandran breaks down three promising vaccine approaches currently in development — including the mRNA vaccine his team is working on — and explains how each one works, who may be eligible for clinical trials, and why progress in pancreatic cancer could have implications for other cancer types as well. PancChat is a collaboration between Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer [https://letswinpc.org] and PanCAN [https://pancan.org]. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn More: Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer [https://bit.ly/4aTSz8m] Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) [https://bit.ly/40QANge] Let's Win Clinical Trial Finder [https://bit.ly/4r0tVYg] PanCAN Clinical Trial Finder [https://bit.ly/46qzJ6c] PanCAN Patient Services [https://bit.ly/4u5bBAc]