More than 4,000 walk to fight pancreatic cancer

For Carol McNamara, it started with back pain. For two years, she said, doctors couldn't pinpoint the cause. Then a year ago, she got the awful news: pancreatic cancer, the most lethal form of cancer known.

"I will not give into this disease," McNamara, 54, said Sunday, as she walked a 2-mile route at Nassau Community College with more than 4,000 other people who were raising money to promote research into a cure for the little-understood form of cancer. Organizers said they expected to raise $1 million with the event.

McNamara, of Blue Point, considers herself lucky because about two weeks ago, she was found to be cancer-free. But she is a realist. "This cancer likes to come back," she said.

Pancreatic cancer has just a 5 percent survival rate, said Kerri Kaplan, director of the nonprofit Lustgarten Foundation, which sponsored the walk. Lustgarten, which is the nation's largest private foundation dedicated solely to raising money for pancreatic cancer research, was started in 1998 after Cablevision vice president Marc Lustgarten was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died a year later. Cablevision, which owns Newsday, is a major supporter of the foundation.

Pancreatic cancer is so deadly because it typically does not cause obvious symptoms until it has reached a late stage, and the symptoms associated with it - back pain, stomach ache and weight loss - are not often seen as alarming. Although it's not clear what causes it, smoking is a risk factor, along with "bad luck," Kaplan said.

There were not many survivors at Sunday's event. Most of the walkers were there to remember a loved one claimed by the disease. Pushing strollers and wheelchairs in sweltering heat - the temperature had reached 87 degrees by 11 a.m. - many participants wore the names of family members on T-shirts or signs hanging around their necks. The Martin family of Bay Shore and Port Washington was walking to honor two family members.

"Every family has their own family history," said Julaine Martin, whose mother and mother-in-law both died from pancreatic cancer.

About 10 percent of cases have a genetic component, Kaplan said. Incidence of the disease is spread fairly evenly among ethnic groups, though it is somewhat higher among African-American men, according to federal data.

"This disease," McNamara said, "does not discriminate."

She added, "It may be too late for me, but I'm doing this for the future."