Four years ago this month my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Actually, it wasn't a diagnosis, it was a death sentence.

The mortality rate is 99%, the highest rate of any cancer. Only 25% last one year from diagnosis. The specialist told my brother our dad had five weeks to live. She was dead on.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death, behind lung, breast and prostate cancer, and there is no cure, yet it receives but 1% of available cancer funding. Sickening!

According to Dr. Malcolm Moore, who heads the Medical Oncology and Hematology Division at Princess Margaret Hospital, it's the reality of a disease so few survive.

"Those who survive breast, lung or prostate cancer are great advocates," Moore said. "With pancreatic cancer, those who take up the cause are primarily widows, widowers, or children of the deceased."

Betty Aldridge is one of those advocates. She took up the fight for funding after losing her husband to this damned disease. Dick Aldridge was best known for his years as a Toronto Argonaut football player, but he was also a teacher, coach and father. What confounds Betty is that "Dick never smoked or drank, he ate healthy food and was physically fit."

That didn't stop pancreatic cancer from invading his body and cutting his life short at 63.

It was Betty Aldridge who pushed her MP to have November declared pancreatic cancer awareness month, and also formed The Dick Aldridge Pancreatic Cancer Foundation.

Their mission is to raise awareness and funds to support research in early detection. It is one daunting task. She's up against 82,000 other registered charities in this country, and this disease has no real symptoms.

Detected too late

"The symptoms are non specific, it may be back pain, weight loss, nausea or others, but a lot of people have these. It's not until there are specific signs of cancer, and then it's usually too late for surgery," Moore says. "There has been progress in the last 10 years, specifically public awareness, more funding and a better understanding, however the treatment has not been as substantial.

"Chemotherapy following surgery has increased the likelihood of curing people, but only about 15% are candidates, and only about 15% of those are cured, meaning they survive five years."

Earlier this week Betty and her friend Laurie Ellie, whose mom died from the disease, co-hosted the third annual Dick Aldridge Charity Golf Classic. It raised about $50,000 and brought the three-year total to more than $150,000.

It's a great accomplishment but Betty knows the foundation must grow to be truly effective.

"To do so, we need to partner with a corporation. With sustainable funding, our fundraisers will be icing on the cake for research in early detection, which is our goal."

What they need is the equivalent of what CIBC has done for breast cancer, and I get the feeling that she will do it. This is a woman on a mission. As she puts it, "Where else does the co-chair of a golf tournament bake all the breakfast foods and launch a cookbook featuring her late husband's favourite dishes?"

Pancreatic cancer is a disease most people have never heard of, it's almost hidden from the public, and that's a huge road block, and yet everyone knows someone, or of someone whose life was taken by it. Michael Landon, Ely Callaway, the founder of Callaway Golf, Henry Mancini, Jack Benny and Rex Harrison all died from pancreatic cancer, and former president Jimmy Carter's father, two sisters, and brother Billy Carter all are victims.

If you'd like more information or would like to help you can go dickaldridgecgc.com. Betty will appreciate it, and she may even bake you some double chocolate brownies, just like the ones Dick enjoyed.