November 2022 is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. To raise awareness, the center façade of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Facility in Riverhead will be lit up in purple light throughout the month of November, in partnership with the Lustgarten Foundation.
Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. is himself a pancreatic cancer survivor. After a battle with lymphoma, Sheriff Toulon was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and underwent a whipple procedure to remove the tumor. He has been in remission for nearly 20 years.
When faced with pancreatic cancer, Sheriff Toulon knows that individuals and their families may understandably feel overwhelmed with fear and uncertainty. “I encourage anyone who may have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, or who may have a family history of pancreatic cancer, to learn as much as possible about this disease so that you may be more empowered to make decisions about the diagnosis. Know that you are not alone and help is out there.”
From the Lustgarten Foundation: When the Lustgarten Foundation was established, pancreatic cancer was considered an orphan disease with very little money going into research and virtually no long-term treatment options. Lustgarten changed all that. Today, there are thousands of researchers working to improve patient outcomes and to discover breakthroughs in pancreatic cancer treatments. For more information, please visit www.lustgarten.org.