Susan Jonas lost her mother, Connie,  to pancreatic cancer after battling it for 18 months. At the time, the survival rate was only 6%. It is both Susan and, her best friend, Haven Fletcher’s goal to increase that survival rate to 18% by the year 2020.  Find out how these two raise money, bring awareness, and honor Connie’s memory all at the same time on this week’s episode!

 

Key Takeaways:

[3:35] Pancreatic cancer is the only cancer with a single digit survival rate of only 9% in the past five years.

[5:45] How did Connie’s Crusaders first get started?

[12:30] How did Haven know how, and when, to help Susan through the grief of losing her mom to pancreatic cancer? 

[16:45] On PurpleStride, Susan and Haven’s organization has been the number one charity to raise the most money for this cancer two years in a row. 

[20:50] How many people attended PurpleStride this year? 

[25:20] It is Susan and Haven’s goal to get to an 18% survival rate by 2020.

[25:55] What would Connie think of all of this? 

[30:15] Haven talks about one of their biggest donors and how pancreatic cancer has affected this donor’s life. 

[35:10] As of now, there is no early detection for pancreatic cancer. They do not have annual pancreatic tests the way you do with breast cancer or prostate cancer.

[40:55] Haven shares her story of how she lost her mom.

[44:50] How have Susan and Haven been able to raise more money with the same amount of people? 

[51:45] You don’t have to know everything when starting a charity event, you just have to take one step forward and figure things out as you go. 

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Giving Back Podcast

Connie’s Crusaders Inc.

Connie’s Crusaders on Facebook

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

PurpleStride