Newtown's A Love For Life Founder Raises Awareness In Harrisburg

NEWTOWN, PA — A Newtown Borough resident who created a nonprofit organization in honor of her late husband was invited to the state Capitol as lawmakers voted on a resolution to raise awareness for pancreatic cancer.

Christine Edmonds, the founder of Newtown-based A Love for Life, was in Harrisburg Tuesday, where State Rep. Perry Warren welcomed her in the House chamber.

A Love for Life, formed in December 2012, is the largest donor to pancreatic cancer research at the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine. The organization was founded in honor of Edmonds' husband, Kevin, and his sister, Nora Edmonds. Both were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at age 49, and died at age 51.

“A Love for Life’s mission it to celebrate life and friendship and adventure while funding pancreatic cancer research," Warren said when introducing Edmonds.

Edmonds was joined at the Capitol by A Love for Life board member Anne Marie Hughes, a two-time pancreatic cancer survivor celebrating eight years this month.

“Pancreatic cancer is often difficult to detect and diagnose,” Warren said. “Through her dedicated and energetic work, Christine keeps hope alive that future advances in detection and treatment might one day be available for the countless number of people who will be diagnosed with a disease still considered ‘largely incurable’ by the American Cancer Society."

According to information from Warren's office, more than 56,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year. Only nine out of 100 people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer today will be alive in five years, according to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

The average survival rate for stage four pancreatic cancer patients is six months.

You can learn more about A Love for Life Here.