Saturday, May 18, 2013
   
Our Mission

The Rolfe Foundation's mission is to support scientific research that will lead to an early detection test for pancreatic cancer and to fund organizations that specialize in support services for patients and their loved ones. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity as designated by Internal Revenue Service.

The Foundation was started in 1999 by the family and friends of Michael Rolfe whose untimely death from pancreatic cancer was the inspiration for creating a Foundation to serve as a catalyst for the early diagnosis and ultimate cure of pancreatic cancer.

Latest News

Rolfe Foundation Helps Fund Seventh Annual Team Science Award Winners

“This is a talented group of scientists with a shared goal — alleviating the suffering caused by pancreatic cancer,” said Hruban, professor of pathology and oncology at Johns Hopkins University.

Read entire article.

Scientists Find Loophole inPancreatic Cancer Defenses

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists and colleagues have discovered that pancreatic cancer cells’ growth and spread are fueled by an unusual metabolic pathway that someday might be blocked with targeted drugs to control the deadly cancer.

Read entire article.

Pap Test Could Help Find Cancers of Uterus and Ovaries

Below is a link to a recent New York Times article reporting on a paper published by Burt Vogelstein's group at Johns Hopkins  in which they applied next-generation sequencing to Pap smears and showed they could detect mutant DNA from endometrial and, in some cases, even ovarian cancer.  This is the same approach that the pancreatic cancer lab at Johns Hopkins, headed by Ralph Hruban, is applying to pancreatic cysts and hopefully, one day, to duodenal fluid and even blood as a screening test for pancreatic cancer.

Read entire article.

Oral Bacteria Linked to Increased Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

"Certain types of bacterium present in the formation of gum disease is linked to a 2 times higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer."

Read entire article.

Recurrent GNAS Mutations Define an Unexpected Pathway for Pancreatic Cyst Development

Like bad traffic, surgery is something to be avoided if at all possible.

Read entire article.  

Urine test could hold key to early cancer diagnosis

"The findings could help the detection of [pancreatic] cancer in people who have not yet started to show symptoms."

"It would enable patients to be diagnosed much earlier, leading to improved survival rates."

Read entire article. 

FDA approves new pancreatic cancer drug

"Data show Afinitor delays tumor growth and reduces risk of disease progression in patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors (NET) of pancreatic origin," the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement.

"This marks the first approval of a treatment for this patient population in the United States in nearly 30 years."

Read entire article.  

Decoding tumors in search of more effective cancer treatments

See article in LA Times about Rolfe-funded scientist, Kevin Roggin and his collaboration with Kevin White in The University of Chicago's Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology.

Read entire article.

2013 Dash for Detection


Saturday, June 1, 2013 at 9:00am
Grant Park where East Randolph meets Lake Michigan

Please click here to register.

  
Historic Victory for Pancreatic Cancer research!

President Obama signs the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act into law. The legislation was formerly known as the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act.

Read more.

Tissue Database Successfully Funded!

ROLFE FOUNDATION COMPLETES $200,000 PLEDGE TO FUND TISSUE DATABASE AT UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

In 2012 the Foundation completed a two-year pledge to build a database infrastructure that serves as the backbone to drive cross- institutional research. Under the leadership of Dr. Kevin Roggin, the tissue databank has allowed him and other surgeons to collect and store blood, cyst fluid and tissue samples from patient with benign, premalignant and cancerous lesions in order to identify predictive markers that are differentially expressed in malignant pancreatic tumors.

 Read more.

  
Meeting A Young Scientist

Rolfe Young Professional Member Jill Driscoll meets Jack Andraka and shares her amazing experience.

Read more.

Learn About Us

Michael Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation

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Recent Research Grants Minimize

For information about our recent research grants, click here

  
Share Your Story With Us


Pancreatic Survivor Harriet Wulfstat
Stands Triumphant on the
Great Wall of China in 2006.

Share your story and photos with us by emailing: info@rolfefoundation.org.

We will make every effort to post your story on our website for other patients and their families to read.

Buy Your Purple Bracelet!

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purchase your
PURPLE BRACELET!

$5 EACH

Call or send payment to:

Michael Rolfe
Pancreatic Cancer Foundation

17 N. State St., Ste. 1550

Chicago, IL 60602

312-726-7766

 

 
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