Summerville Woman Fights Against Pancreatic Cancer

Michelle Block of Summerville joined nearly 700 volunteers for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network from all across the country in an effort to turn Capitol Hill purple and seek support from members of Congress for the Pancreatic Cancer Research & Education Act (H.R. 733/S. 362).

Block lost her mother, Carol A. Craft, to the disease one year ago. Craft is a former school bus driver for the district, and attended the 2011 Pancreatic Cancer Awareness event. 

This year, at the end of June, a small group from Clinton, Columbia and Summerville attended the two-day event as representatives of the state of South Carolina.

Block wrote Patch:

The fight against pancreatic cancer is extremely personal to me; I not only lost my mother, she was also my very best friend. South Carolina has been particularly challenging when it comes to this cause. I have found that there is very little awareness or support for pancreatic cancer in our community. In fact, since Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced this bill (H.R. 733/S. 362) five years ago, there has been only ONE South Carolina Congressman that has co-sponsored it!

To find out how you can help in the fight against pancreatic cancer, visit www.PanCan.org or contact S.C. Community Rep. Emilie Marchant at emarchant@pancanvolunteer.org.