Dr. Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University Professor of Computer Science, was initially diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in August 2006. Months later, when he recounted a conversation he’d had with his wife during the time of the diagnosis, he said that doctors had initially suspected hepatitis as the cause of his symptoms. When the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer was later confirmed, his wife asked him if he’d like to trade for hepatitis. He answered, “Honey, I’d trade for AIDS…in a heartbeat.”
Less than a year after resection, Dr. Pausch suffered a recurrence of his pancreatic cancer, with metastases to his liver. In August 2007, doctors told him he likely had 3 to 6 months to live. The 46-year-old husband and father of three young children had some choices to make about how he would spend the last few months of his life. Little did Randy Pausch know at the time that he would soon become famous for sharing his journey with the world.
One of the first items of business for Dr. Pausch was delivering his “Last Lecture,” titled Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, to a packed auditorium at Carnegie Mellon University on September 18, 2007. The lecture was recorded on video for those who couldn’t be in the auditorium that day. By December, the video made its way to You Tube, and 7 million views later, Dr. Pausch was known worldwide. His simple, uncomplicated messages appealed to viewers of all ages and backgrounds. And when he and Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow teamed up to put the Last Lecture into writing, the result was a book that topped bestseller lists internationally and has thus far been translated into 30 languages.
After the lecture and book, Dr. Pausch could have retreated quietly to his home to spend time with family and friends. But he made an extraordinary choice, deciding instead to use the time he had left to speak out on behalf pancreatic cancer patients everywhere. He felt a remarkable sense of responsibility, stating “We don’t have advocates for this disease because they don’t live long enough. We don’t have a Michael J. Fox because people die too fast.”
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, with an overall 5-year survival rate of just 5%. Approximately 37,680 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, and over 34,000 will die. Despite these sobering statistics, less that 2% of the National Cancer Institute’s funding is dedicated to pancreatic cancer.
With an intimate knowledge of the disease, Dr. Pausch got involved with advocacy organizations like the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) in order to raise awareness and call attention to the need for greater research funding. Since the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s founding in 1999, the organization has advocated vigorously for increasing National Cancer Institute funding for pancreatic cancer research, resulting in an increase from $17 million in 1999 to $73 million in 2007. At the same time, the organization provides research grants in partnership with the American Association for Cancer Research, and offers information and resources to patients and families through its Patient and Liaison Services (PALS) program.
In March of 2008, just days before he was scheduled to testify before Congress, Dr. Pausch was hospitalized for 3 days with renal failure and congestive heart failure, all side effects of his ongoing treatment. Nevertheless, he was determined to be discharged from the hospital in time to make it to Capitol Hill. Though physically weakened and in pain, Dr. Pausch made it to Washington, DC on March 13 and delivered extremely powerful testimony on behalf of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to the U.S. House of Representative’s Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Related Agencies.
“With pancreatic cancer, I learned a new word: ‘nihilistic.’ It means, ‘given up…too hard.’ Well, I don’t believe in ‘too hard.’ I believe that by funding pancreatic cancer research, we will be going after the hardest problem…pancreatic cancer is a disease that I think we can beat, but it’s going to take continued courage and funding from our government.”
Dr. Randy Pausch
Testimony before Congress, March 13, 2008
Four months later, on July 25, 2008, Randy Pausch succumbed to pancreatic cancer.
In his Last Lecture and through his advocacy efforts, Randy Pausch left tremendous gifts of hope and optimism for patients and loved ones touched by pancreatic cancer. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network carries his legacy forward, continuing to push for increased federal funding for pancreatic cancer research, while providing information and hope to those facing the disease.