There is an event scheduled for Saturday at RIT to raise money for research into pancreatic cancer.
That effort means a lot to Steve Whitman, who is honorary chair of the Step It Up! Cure Pancreatic Cancer 5K Walk & Family Fun Day.
That’s because he’s a pancreatic cancer survivor. He recently turned 65 years old and calls that his 6th ‘bonus birthday’ since pancreatic cancer usually has only a five percent survival rate past six years.
Whitman remains positive in his outlook, noting that research has made a lot of strides in terms of treatment.
“There’s always new treatments on the horizon and every time I go for a checkup there’s discussions of alternatives that I might want to choose.”
Whitman has had surgery and is now undergoing hormone therapy. He says it’s keeping the cancer at bay and he’s feeling pretty well.
“I’m looking very much ahead, and living very much in the present. I can’t stress enough the importance of family in getting you through all this, they’re really victims of this as well, Whitman told WXXI News.
The event on Saturday runs from Noon to 4pm at RIT's Gordon Field House. It has a goal of raising $100,000 to help local research efforts.
