Remembering Aretha Franklin
- It’s been three years ago since the “Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin, passed away from pancreatic cancer.
- Her legacy still lives on through hit songs, a new biopic starring Jennifer Hudson, and all the awareness Franklin raised on behalf of pancreatic cancer.
- Pancreatic cancer is known as one of the most difficult types of cancers to treat, and is often caught in later stages.
Regarded as one of the most influential singers of our lifetime, Franklin’s love of singing began in her church where she was part of the gospel choir. At 18-years-old, she started working on a career in music but did not immediately flourish in the industry. However, once signing with Atlantic Records she found huge success through hit albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You. Today, she is still recognized as one of the greatest artists of all time and has received multiple honors and awards.
Read MoreAretha Franklin is regarded as the most influential female vocalist of the 1960s and her legacy as The Queen of Soul lives on! Today, on the 3rd anniversary of her death, we remember her not only as the remarkable artist she was, but also as a strong #pancreaticcancer warrior. pic.twitter.com/qUn4ocfdqI
— PanCAN (@PanCAN) August 16, 2021
Franklin’s legacy has gone beyond the music industry, as she has raised huge awareness towards pancreatic cancer and made people more aware of the disease and its symptoms.
Pancreatic Cancer: An Overview
Pancreatic cancer is known as one of the most difficult types of cancers to treat, and is often caught in later stages. Some of the main symptoms associated with pancreatic cancer may include jaundice, weight gain, back pain or diabetes. However, by the time these signs start popping up, it usually means the disease has progressed to later stages. According to Dr. Anirban Maitra, 80% of diagnoses are caught in later stages since symptoms don't present themselves until the disease has already spread. Currently, the five-year survival rate of pancreatic cancer patients is just 9%.
Cancers caught in late stages typically have fewer treatment outcomes, but pancreatic cancer is especially difficult. The reason is because of the stroma a barrier around cancer cells which prevents medications, such as chemotherapy and radiation, from targeting and killing these cells. If these cells continue to grow, then the disease will continue to progress.
"Think of pancreatic cancer as an oatmeal raisin cookie and the raisins are actually the cancer cells, and the cookie part is actually all the stroma around it," Dr. Allyson Ocean, a medical oncologist at Weill Cornell Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet. "And imagine having to navigate through all that stroma for a treatment to be able to get into a cell to kill it. So that's why the treatments just really aren't good enough to penetrate the cancer. But we're improving, we're getting better treatments."
Dr. Allyson Ocean provides a breakdown of pancreatic cancer
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