Mother’s Fight Fuels Urgent Push for New Pancreatic Cancer Therapies
A mother’s fight for extra time fuels a push for faster pancreatic cancer treatments. Her battle highlights a disease that kills most patients within a year and demands quicker, more effective therapies.
Resa Reddick Cancro was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in August 2024 and died in March 2026 after 19 months of treatment. She clung to milestones, attending her son’s senior prom and moving him into his college dorm, moments she refused to miss.
The diagnosis forced him to balance normal teenage experiences with the looming loss of his mother. He chose the University of Central Florida, just an hour from home, to stay close and gain precious extra time.
When she was hospitalized for the final time in March, he rushed to her side, held her hand, and said his last “I love you.” He was able to hold her hand in her final moments.
He remains grateful for every extra day but wishes they had more time. She will not be present for his graduation, medical school, or the birth of his first grandchild.
The data show pancreatic cancer accounts for roughly 67,530 new diagnoses and 52,740 deaths in the United States each year, with only 13% of patients surviving five years. Most deaths occur between ages 65 and 74, robbing families of graduations, first grandchildren, and growing old together.
Cases are rising, pushing pancreatic cancer from the fourth to the second leading cause of cancer death. Surgery offers the only realistic cure, yet most patients are not candidates once the disease advances. Chemotherapy can extend life but provides limited benefit.
She received two chemotherapy regimens and two radiation courses, but the available options were insufficient. She relied on the limited regimens available.
New combination therapy pairs daraxonrasib from Revolution Medicines with vopimetostat from Tango Therapeutics, targeting distinct tumor vulnerabilities. Updated data showed 18 of 22 previously treated patients (82%) experienced tumor shrinkage and a nine‑month progression‑free survival rate of 88%.
These early results offer real hope for patients who need urgent, safe treatment extensions. They could change the treatment landscape.
Revolution Medicines CEO Mark Goldsmith said more data is needed before drawing conclusions, but patients cannot wait for lengthy trials. Tango and Revolution must set aside business priorities and accelerate joint evaluation of the combination therapy.
She will not be present for his graduation, medical school, or the birth of his first grandchild, nor will she hold his father’s hand as they age. Cancer steals milestones that medicine cannot replace.
Biotech firms can prioritize patients, collaborate when science demands, and pursue promising therapies with the urgency this disease demands. The next family facing pancreatic cancer deserves more time, and companies must make that their top goal.
The urgency of biotech companies must meet or exceed the urgency of patients. Patients deserve treatment that matches their urgency.
