When Bardon local Scott Rimington and his family join a sea of purple for the annual National Walk for Pancreatic Cancer in Brisbane, on Sunday, the 20th Oct 2019, they will be hoping that pancreatic cancer will get the same attention as breast cancer.
“I may need to update my information but when I last looked more people die of pancreatic cancer in Australia than of breast cancer,” Scott said. “Still [there are] lots more women diagnosed with breast cancer but through research funding, improving identification and treatments, the survival rates have improved remarkably [for breast cancer patients].”
Scott lost his wife of 35 years, Annie Cridland, to an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer in 2016. Since Annie’s diagnosis, he has been supporting the research to help improve pancreatic cancer detection and treatments. He has been sharing his time and resources to the foundation more so after his wife passed away.
The Hope for Pancreatic Cancer Research
Scott hopes that the same progress will happen to pancreatic cancer research. Thus, he has been urging family members and friends to raise awareness and participate in the Put Your Foot Down Walk for Pancreatic Cancer.
Joining Scott at Teralba Park at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday are his daughters Emily and Evie, Annie’s friends and even Annie’s dog, Nell. They will be amongst other families throwing their support for pancreatic cancer patients and the institutions that ensure there will one day be an end to this deadly disease.
“There is something very special about sharing with other families and treading the same path we have,” Scott said.
Whilst he looks forward to the yearly walk for a cause to be with the families and meet the actual experts who have been working on finding a cure, Scott still has mixed emotions about this fundraiser.
“In some ways, I wish it wasn’t on as it is such a potent reminder of how pernicious this particular cancer is,” he said. “Every year you meet people and families that have been down the same or even tougher pathways than our family.”
“But in truth for me, the most important thing is to entice people to donate to Avner pancreatic cancer research as it is only funding that is going to keep the research momentum up in this seemingly intractable cancer area.”
Supporting the Walk for Pancreatic Cancer
If you’re keen on joining Scott, you may still register for the Walk. On-site registration will take place on the day of the event if you can’t do the online registration. Just be there at 8:30 a.m. or earlier.
The Walk is open for any age but participants above 16 years old will need to sign up for $25 as part of the fundraising efforts. Don’t forget to wear anything purple!
You don’t need to be present at the Walk to support the cause. You may still donate online from among the participant’s profiles. As of press time, $16,586.00 has been raised in the days leading up to the big event.
