Tom Aronson became a caregiver when his father’s annual eye exam revealed his father had diabetes.  About a year later, a number of additional symptoms materialized, and Tom received a call from his dad, saying his dad had pancreatic cancer.  Nine months after the diagnosis, Tom’s father passed away.  Tom later learned that studies are underway seeking to determine if there is a connection between diabetes and pancreatic cancer.  Going forward, through the Early Detection Initiative, people diagnosed with a diabetes, will be screened to see if they have any type of cancer.

 

Tom Aronson of Santa Monica, California, long thought his father, Bob, was the picture of health.  He was 6’5” and in great shape.  Then at age 54, Bob went in for an annual eye exam, which led to a diagnosis of diabetes.  This came as a surprise to Bob and his family because the Aranson family had no history of diabetes.  Within a year, for Bob Aronson, things went from bad to worse.

 

Bob Aronson began to feel pain in his chest and abdomen.  After a few visits to doctors and specialists, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  Nine months later, he passed away.  Tom and his family were left to wonder how diabetes could have led to pancreatic cancer.

 

Tom did some research, which led him to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, or PanCAN.  That research resulted in his quest to learn how pancreatic cancer can be detected at an early stage.  Due to the lack of pancreatic cancer screening, most of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are diagnosed Stage IV, in which the five-year survival rate is less than five percent.  However, in the rare instances in which pancreatic cancer is found at an earlier stage, the five-year survival rate is above 80 percent.

 

Thanks to fundraising started by Tom, a $200,000 grant from PanCAN, research aimed at increased early detection of pancreatic cancer was spearheaded by Dr. Anirban Maitra at MD Anderson in Texas.  That research grew into an initiative announced by PanCAN, called the Early Detection Initiative, which is about further testing of people diagnosed with diabetes later in life, to see if the diagnosis is accompanied by cancer symptoms. 

 

Tom Aronson says it is becoming common knowledge that is a connection between diabetes and pancreatic cancer.  In contrast, when Bob Aronson was diagnosed with diabetes, the eye doctor had no inclination that Bob could have had pancreatic cancer.  Tom wants to believe if his dad had been diagnosed with diabetes years later, the pancreatic cancer would have been detected at an earlier stage, giving him an increased chance for survivorship.

 

While Tom Aronson is pleased to see the results of the Early Detection Initiative, he admits these days it is still difficult for one to get a pancreatic cancer screening.  He hopes with the passage of time, improvements will be made in this area as well.

 

Additional Resources:

 

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

https://www.pancan.org

 

Dr. Anirban Maitra, MD Anderson

Bio: https://www.mdanderson.org/cancermoonshots/about/our-physicians-researchers/a-maitra.html