Nicole Tuscano of Howell will honor the memory of her mother, Cleo Tuscano, at an annual fundraising event that will support research into the disease that claimed Cleo’s life six years ago.
Tuscano, 31, has once again teamed up with the Lustgarten Foundation to host a memorial pancreatic cancer walk on June 8 at Monmouth University, West Long Branch. All money raised from the event will be donated to the foundation.
The Lustgarten Foundation is the largest private, nonprofit supporter of pancreatic cancer research in the United States.
Tuscano said anyone who wants to participate in the walk can log on to the website www.lustgarten.org and locate the event on the site for pre-registration. Participation requires a minimum $50 donation.
“When you sign up, you get a T-shirt and, if you are on a team, I like to make a poster for each team,” Tuscano said. “I usually do a photo area, too, and this year I would like to get one of those balloon arcs for the photos. … It will be fun.”
The inaugural Cleo Tuscano memorial walk in 2010 was held at the Manasquan Reservoir, Howell. About 350 people participated and $52,000 was raised.
The event was relocated to Monmouth University in 2011 and 500 people raised $101,000. In 2012, about 800 people participated and raised $115,000, and in 2013, about 1,000 people participated and $122,000 was raised.
Tuscano said that as of Feb. 27 she had already raised $2,200 from pre-registration and “thinks [she is] right on track for another good year.”
Tuscano said her mother fought pancreatic cancer for two-and-a-half years, which was about two years more than she had been told it would take for the disease to overcome her.
“My mom and I were very close, and she was a very strong, confident person,” Tuscano said. “She was just that person who everyone knew and loved. It was especially hard for me because I lost her so young.
“I wanted to do something [in her honor] because she did not do chemotherapy or standard treatment. She went for alternative treatment, and she was very smart and confident in the decisions she made.
“Unfortunately, the disease is so terrible and it took over, but she lived a very good life those couple of years. You never would have known she was sick, though. People did not believe it until the last few months,” she said.
Cleo Tuscano was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006 and died in 2008.
Tuscano said that in addition to the walk at Monmouth University in June, she is sponsoring an event at Alex and Ani Red Bank, 12 Broad St., Red Bank, on April 9 from 7-9 p.m.
Any item that is purchased in the store during those hours will have 15 percent of the purchase price donated to the Lustgarten Foundation.
Last year’s event at the store netted $1,200 for Tuscano’s effort.
According to the Lustgarten Foundation website, pancreatic cancer is a silent disease with no early warning signs. Even as symptoms develop, they can be vague and are frequently attributed to other ailments.
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in both sexes and a majority of patients diagnosed are 55 years old or older, although the disease can also occur in younger people.
