| WHAT: |
More than 250 people are expected to attend Penn Medicine’s 4th annual “Focus on Gastrointestinal Cancers” conference. The event is offered to those at risk or in treatment for colon, liver or pancreatic cancer, as well as survivors, family members, caregivers and health care professionals. Gayle Jackson, mother of Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiver DeSean Jackson – whose father died of pancreatic cancer in 2009 – will give an inspirational keynote address titled “A Caregiver’s Story.” The conference, sponsored by the Abramson Cancer Center, is free of charge. |
WHEN: |
Friday, March 26, 2010
7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
NOTE: Gayle Jackson will speak from 9 to 9:10 a.m., followed by a five-minute question-and-answer session. |
WHERE: |
Hilton Hotel
4200 City Avenue
Philadelphia, PA
(Gayle Jackson to speak in the Grand Salon of the Hilton Hotel) |
Details
Bill Jackson fought a courageous battle against pancreatic cancer, but he lost the fight on May 14, 2009. The DeSean Jackson Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer was established to honor his legacy and to bring awareness to this disease.
At the conference, Gayle Jackson, Bill’s wife, will discuss her personal experience as a caregiver and how the Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.
“We were horrified to learn Bill had pancreatic cancer,” says Gayle. “He passed away just five months later. There were no apparent warnings signs and no red flags until it was too late for treatment. This is a very serious disease.”
It is the mission of the DeSean Jackson Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer to provide hope and to support new and innovative initiatives aimed at finding a cure for pancreatic cancer today.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.