38 SEENA MAGOWITZ FOUNDATION TONY SUBIA | CONTRI BUTI NG WRITER PAM RYAN A Cherished Legacy Legacy Heroes

SEENA MAGOWITZ FOUNDATION 39 Legacy Heroes Pam thought she was suffering from strained muscles in her legs but it was ultimately diagnosed as blood clots not only in her legs but in her lungs as well. Blood clots can be a symptom of pancreatic cancer. A subsequent CT Scan revealed a malignant tumor in her pancreas and the cancer had already spread to distant organs. It was diagnosed as an inoperable stage 4 advanced adenocarcinoma pancreatic cancer. “I was in shock when her oncologist told me my wife would die soon,” said Jim Ryan, her husband of 40 years. Both Jim and Pam refused to accept that verdict and began the search for a second opinion, which led to a clinical trial at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. That trial, administered by TGen, was performed under the guidance of Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, one of the world’s foremost scientific research oncologists. The com bination of being treated with “Abraxane” ORIGINALLY DIAGNOSED WITH PANCREATIC CANCER IN NOVEMBER 2012, PAM RYAN PASSED AWAY IN APRIL 2014. ORIGINALLY GIVEN A BLEAK PROGNOSIS OF JUST A FEW WEEKS TO LIVE, PAM DEFIED THE ODDS AND LIVED FOR 16 TREASURED MONTHS. (Nab-Paclitaxel) mixed with Gemcitabine extended Pam’s life from the original prognosis of just weeks to 1½ years. Besides continuing to guide and protect her children, Pam was very active with charities, including helping create a live Bethlehem Village for her Church’s annual Christmas event known as “Christmas At First.” She was in the National Charity League with her daughter and was also very active in the Junior League of Phoenix. She served as President of the Maricopa Bar Auxiliary helping the County Bar Association provide law educational programs for grade school students. Pam was active in the P.E.O. Sisterhood and served as the President of the Arizona Historical League. She genuinely cared for people, as evidenced by the years she spent sending care packages to our soldiers overseas as a participant in the “Soldier’s Angels” Program.