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THE LUSTGARTEN FOUNDATION
FOUNDATION BACKGROUND:
The Lustgarten Foundation is America’s largest private foundation dedicated solely to funding
pancreatic cancer research. Based in Bethpage, New York, the Foundation supports research to
find a cure for pancreatic cancer, facilitates dialogue within the medical and scientific community,
and educates the public about the disease through awareness campaigns and fundraising
events. It has provided millions of research dollars and assembled the best scientific minds with
the hope that one day early diagnosis will require nothing more than a routine blood test, and that
better treatments can be found, someday leading to a cure.
After Cablevision Vice Chairman and Madison Square Garden Chairman Marc Lustgarten was
diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1998, Marc, with the support of Cablevision and its Chairman
Charles Dolan and Chief Executive James Dolan, established The Lustgarten Foundation. Marc
died from pancreatic cancer in 1999 at the age of 52. With less than two percent of federal
funding directed toward pancreatic cancer research, the Foundation provides a critical role in
combating this most lethal form of cancer. Just six percent of those diagnosed survive five years
and most with advanced disease die within a year of diagnosis.
Cablevision, a leading media and telecommunications company, has supported the Foundation’s
mission since its inception and has made a multi-year commitment to underwrite all of the
Foundation’s administrative costs so that 100 percent of every dollar donated goes directly to
pancreatic cancer research. In addition, to help spread the word about the Foundation’s efforts
and the fight against pancreatic cancer, Cablevision launched curePC, a multi-faceted campaign,
for which it uses its assets to raise public awareness through television, print, radio and online
public service announcements. For more information, please visit www.curePC.org.
THANKS TO RESEARCH FUNDED BY THE LUSTGARTEN FOUNDATION:
We know more about the genetic makeup of this cancer than any other cancer.
Families are being examined to determine which genes cause hereditary pancreatic cancer.
Research to determine targeted treatments is now underway.
Early detection tests are in development, including blood tests, scanning technologies, and
genetic screening.
Vaccines are being tested for treating pancreatic cancer.
RESEARCH PROGRESS IN THE PAST DECADE:
Since it was founded in 1998, The Lustgarten Foundation has played an important role in the
evolution of the field of pancreatic cancer research, devoting more than $42 million to more
than 125 research projects at more than 40 medical and research centers worldwide.
Just twelve years ago, the field of pancreatic cancer was largely ignored with only a handful
of investigators working part-time in research peripherally relevant to the disease. Today,
nearly 1,000 researchers are trying to find a cure.
With less than two percent of federal funding directed at researching the nation’s fourthleading cause of cancer deaths, the efforts of The Lustgarten Foundation have made an
important contribution to better understanding pancreatic cancer.
The Foundation’s steadfast commitment to advancing the field of pancreatic cancer research
has greatly contributed to the shift we’ve seen in this area over the years. Largely, the field
has moved from only a handful of researchers working on pancreatic cancer-related studies
to an even greater number of researchers, and finally to what it is today, a focused,
collaborative effort of many researchers dedicated to finding a cure.
The Foundation fostered this collaborative effort by creating the Pancreatic Cancer Research
Consortium in 2010, which is comprised of six leading medical institutions from across the
United States.
PANCREATIC CANCER: FACTS AT A GLANCE
WHAT IS PANCREATIC CANCER:
Pancreatic cancer is swift and silent, often undetected until it’s too late. More than 37,000 people
will die from the disease this year alone. Of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, just six
percent survive five years and most with advanced cancer die within a year. It is the fourthleading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
Pancreatic cancer is the abnormal growth of pancreatic cells in the form of a tumor most
commonly found in the exocrine tissues of the pancreas. These tumors, typically malignant, may
lead to the spread of cancerous cell growth in other tissues and organs. Tumors that may also
develop in the endocrine tissue of the pancreas are most often benign.
THE FUNCTION OF THE PANCREAS:
The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system located deep in the abdomen behind the
stomach. This deep location is one reason pancreatic diseases are difficult to diagnose.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:
Pancreatic cancer is called a silent disease because signs or symptoms may not occur, and when
they do, may not be uniquely attributable to the disease. Potential symptoms may include
diabetes, fatigue, back pain, abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, jaundice,
nausea and inflammation of the pancreas. Often, diagnosis is made after the cancer has spread
to other parts of the body.
DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT:
The most commonly used diagnostic tool is imaging, such as MRI and CT scans. Surgery, which
may include removing portions of the pancreas, the duodenum (the beginning of the small
intestine) or the spleen, is the only treatment that can eradicate cancerous pancreatic tumors.
Other treatment options include radiation therapy or chemotherapy or alternative medicines, any
of which may be employed in conjunction with surgery. The survival rate is just six percent, and
people diagnosed in later stages usually have only a few months to live.
PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS:
Nearly 90 percent of pancreatic cancer patients are over 55 years old, and 68 percent are over
65. Pancreatic cancer does occur in younger patients, especially those with negative risk factors
such as family history, smoking, poor diet, obesity, diabetes mellitus, chronic pancreatitis and
exposure to radiation or chemicals or other environmental factors. Researchers also have
identified statistical anomalies finding increased rates of pancreatic cancer in African-American
and Ashkenazi Jewish populations.
THE STATISTICS FOR PANCREATIC CANCER ARE GRIM:
− Pancreatic cancer is the most lethal cancer there is.
− It is labeled a silent disease because many times the signs and symptoms can go unnoticed
until the cancer is in the advanced stage.
− The overall five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is six percent.
− An estimated 44,000 Americans will be diagnosed in 2012 and more than 37,000 will die.
− There are no early detection tests, no effective treatments and, unless the cancer is surgically
removed in its earliest stages, no cure.
That’s why we need more research. With more research, there’s hope that we will find a cure.
For more information, please visit www.curePC.org.