Flook benefit Nov. 10 at Fulton Co Museum

Kathleen Flook's life was turned upside recently when she received her diagnoses of pancreatic cancer. Community members are gathering to show support and help ease the financial burden with a benefit for Flook on Sunday, Nov. 10, from 2-6 p.m. at the Fulton County Museum.

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, which gives an opportunity to shine an educational light and raise awareness on the disease. The disease is an all too real reality for people like Kathleen Flook, a local mother and grandmother from Rochester who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 

According to the American Cancer Society, pancreatic cancer accounts for around 3% of all cancers in the United States. The average lifetime risk of the disease affects is reported to affect about 1 in 56 in men and about 1 in 60 in women. Pancreatic cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the pancreas, an organ that sits behind the stomach. Research into pancreatic cancer's causes, diagnosis, and treatment of pancreatic cancer is underway in many medical centers throughout the world, with continual advancements over the years increasing the chances of survival more and more each year. While screening tests for patients with high-risk features is recommended to catch the cancer early, by the time most dealing with pancreatic cancer are diagnosed it's typically developed into a more late-stage cancer. 

By the time Flook had received her diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the end of September, after undergoing what was supposed to be gallbladder surgery, doctors told her the cancer had already spread from her pancreas to her gallbladder, liver and lungs. Prior to her diagnoses, Flook experienced symptoms of nausea, fatigue and sudden weight loss. Flook's daughter, Jichaela Lee, said that the diagnoses were a shock that ran ripples through their entire family. Taking things one step at a time while trying to stay positive during the fight of her mother's life, Lee said doctors are now focusing on a large tumor that had spread to Flook's liver as their main focus. 

Flook's current treatment plan includes trial treatments in Indianapolis of chemotherapy and immunotherapy that takes four to six hours each trip. Lee said her mother's doctor gave the family hope when he told them that despite Flook's cancer levels being so high at the start of her diagnosis, since starting treatments in Indianapolis, Flook's levels continue to drop at a much higher rate than most people being treated for the disease. While Flook continues her battle, she is thankful of the support from her husband, three adult children and mother who have been helping her since her diagnoses. Regardless, the expenses between the weekly trips to Indianapolis, cancer treatments and pain medicine are beginning to take a toll on the family's expenses. 

On Sunday, Nov. 10, Flook's family will be holding a benefit at the Fulton County Museum, 37 E. 375 North, Rochester, from 2-6 p.m. The benefit will include dinner, a bake sale, raffle, auction and 50/50 drawing. All proceeds go toward Flook's fight.