'Why We Fight' pancreatic cancer campaigners

Annette Regan's mother died three months after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1997. "We were totally in shock at how quickly she passed away," said Regan, 51, a sales representative from Melville. "We were devastated, and we felt we couldn't do anything about it - there wasn't much information out there about it."

To help raise awareness of the disease and the need for research, Regan is participating with 14 others in a new "Why We Fight" public service announcement being aired during November, Pancreatic Awareness Month. It's part of Cablevision's curePC public awareness campaign - a series of television, print, radio and online ads (at curePC.org) - in support of The Lustgarten Foundation.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death. This year, the American Cancer Society estimates, about 43,140 people will be diagnosed with the disease, and about 36,800 will die of it.

Since 2001, Regan has raised about $5,000 per year for the foundation through a comedy night at Governor's Comedy Club in Levittown. "I feel so confident fundraising for them because 100 percent goes to research," Regan said.

The Lustgarten Foundation is the nation's largest private foundation dedicated solely to raising money for pancreatic cancer research. It was started in 1998 after Cablevision vice chairman Marc Lustgarten was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died one year later.

Cablevision, which owns Newsday, underwrites the foundation's expenses so that 100 percent of donations go to research institutions, including Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

The foundation has donated $32 million since 1998, said Kerri Kaplan, executive director.

Pancreatic cancer can be hard to treat because it's typically not detected until it's at a very late stage. The symptoms - back pain, stomachache and weight loss - aren't often immediately associated with pancreatic cancer.

The participants in the "Why We Fight" campaign include six Long Islanders - Regan, Antonio Vozzolo of Commack, Richard Armenia of Middle Island, Madeline Pugliese of Port Washington, Serena Richardson of Hempstead and RoseAnn Simeone of Wading River.

When Vozzolo's grandmother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 1999, he had never heard of it. "We learned more about it and how the cure rate was very low and that she really didn't have long to live," said Vozzolo, 41, of Commack. She died eight months later.

Vozzolo now helps raise money with help from donations given through his family's hair salon, Kimera Salon in Hicksville. "Over the years I'm finding that people are becoming more and more aware. When we ask someone for a contribution, I'm hearing more and more people saying, 'Oh yeah, I know someone who had that,' " said Vozzolo, a hairstylist at the salon.

"I really feel like it's becoming much more recognizable," he said. "We really hope the public service announcement is definitely going to make people much more aware."