A Comedy Legend
- American comedian Jack Benny died from pancreatic cancer 47 years ago on the day after Christmas. He was 80 years old.
- Sadly, the cancer was not discovered until a week before his death. Just a few months prior, Benny had collapsed before going on stage to perform in Dallas, but after various tests at the hospital, doctors released him with a “clean bill of health.”
- Pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose at an early stage. Just twenty percent of patients have their pancreatic cancer caught early enough to make them a candidate for surgery, the only way that pancreatic cancer can currently be cured.
The Chicago-born starwho was born on Valentine’s Day had an impressive 50-year career under his belt when he passed in Beverly Hills.
Read MoreActors Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, along with TV host Johnny Carson were just a few of many big names who served as honorary pallbearers for their dear friend. Bob Hope and George Burns delivered eulogies.
President Gerald Ford sent a telegram to Benny’s widow Mary Livingstonewhom Benny had married in 1927with these words: "If laughter is the music of the soul, Jack and his violin and his good humor have made life better for all men."
Benny’s Early Years
In Chicago, Benny grew up playing violin, a gift from his father. He was performing concerts by the age of 8. By 18, he went started performing vaudeville, then wound up performing The Great Temptations on Broadway.
It was in 1932 that he found radio, or radio found him rather. He had a guest spot on Ed Sullivan’s radio show and then he had his own show on NBC by the end of the year. His radio shtick kept him on the top of the polls, always in the top 10 through the mid-’30s and continued on with NBC until 1948 when he switched over to CBS.
Related: Remembering TV Personality Ed Sullivan Who Passed From Esophageal Cancer at 73 Years Old
His philosophy on comedy was "never laugh at the other fellow; let him laugh at you," he once said. "I try to make my character encompass about everything that is wrong with everybody. On the air. I have everybody’s faults. All listeners know someone or have a relative who is a tightwad, showâ€off or something of that sort. Then in their minds I become a real character."
Benny had to adapt to performing on television when radio started losing its luster and wound up mastering that medium as well, despite the naysayers who believed his actwhich was “no act,” they saidlimited him to radio.
Benny hit the film-acting circuit as well, performing on the big-screen in projects like Chasing Rainbows (1929), The Medicine Man (1930), and The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945).
Benny’s thoughts on the entertainment world hold true more than ever today as artists are forced to change with the times of social media, streaming networks, not to mention adjusting life due to the global pandemic. "Show business has changed. I’m changing with it,” he had said in the early 1970s. “There’s no more class in show business today. You do everything and anything."
Being adaptable is always one of the most important skills to have in any industry, and in life in general
Pancreatic Cancer is Difficult to Diagnose
Every type of cancer is different, that's why treatment strategies differ from cancer to cancer. However, one thing that they do all have in common is that the earlier they're found, the higher the chance of successfully treating them. Pancreatic cancer is one of the tougher cancers to diagnosis early, and it is typically discovered at an advanced stage.
And with a five year survival rate of just nine percent, it's vital that it's caught as early as possible.
Although pancreatic cancer survival rates have been improving for decades, it's still considered to be a largely incurable disease. An exception to this is if the tumor is still small enough and localized enough to be operated on.
Symptoms to look out for include jaundice, weight loss, back pain and diabetes. It is also key to be aware if pancreatic cancer runs in your family, as it can have a genetic component. Up to ten percent of pancreatic cancer cases are caused by inherited genetic syndromes.
Challenges to Screening for Pancreatic Cancer
Around eighty percent of pancreatic cancer patients already have advanced disease by the time they're diagnosed, severely limiting treatment options. Just twenty percent of patients have their pancreatic cancer caught early enough to make them a candidate for surgery, the only way that pancreatic cancer can currently be cured.
As Dr. Anirban Maitra, co-leader of the Pancreatic Cancer Moon Shot at MD Anderson Cancer Center, explains, "This has an impact on the prognosis of the disease, because patients who have advanced disease, the treatments we have available for them, they work somewhat, but they don't really do as well as we would like for them to have an impact."
“Each year in the United States, about 53,000 patients get pancreatic cancer,” Dr. Maitra explains. “And unfortunately, most will die from this disease within a few months to a year or so from the diagnosis.”
Knowledge is Power: Educating Yourself on Pancreatic Cancer
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
