56 SEENA MAGOWITZ FOUNDATION Pancreatic Cancer Warriors JULIA BRABANT | CONTRI BUTI NG WRITER HOWARD YOUNG DEFYING THE ODDS A Patient, Fundraiser & An Inspiration of Hope

SEENA MAGOWITZ FOUNDATION 57 Pancreatic Cancer Warriors Now, nearly 17 years after receiving his initial pancre - atic cancer diagnosis, the Atlanta-based beer distribu - tor has helped countless others “ignore the numbers” while replacing the sobering statistics so often heard by pancreatic cancer patients with some life-changing figures of his own. He didn’t set out to be a trailblazer for the pancreatic cancer community – in fact, back before that fate - ful day in November, 2002, the biggest hurdle the then-42-year-old saw in his path was hunting down a Christmas present that would please his wife, Becky. After suffering through a month’s worth of stomach pains, though, he trusted his gut, so to speak, and soon after, he heard the words that would ultimately set the path for the next nearly two decades: he not only had cancer, but he had one of the harshest, most unforgiving forms of it out there: pancreatic cancer. Now, typically, hearing news like this takes some time to digest, but time is not something many have much of in the weeks and months following a cancer diagno - sis. So, because Young was one of the “lucky ones,” or the 20 percent or so who receive the pancreatic can - cer diagnosis early enough to have surgical interven - tion as an option, he knew what his future held, and he knew there would be hard days ahead. What he didn’t realize at the time, though, was just how much he’d learn along the way about love, perseverance and the strength of the human spirit. See, that surgery was not without complications, and the subsequent struggles were some of the worst he’d ever faced. He dropped 35 pounds from his long, lean 6’6” frame, and he spent as many as eight hours a day receiving intravenous drugs so powerful he could feel them burning through his veins. He underwent months and months of chemotherapy and 29 radia - tion treatments, and when his doctor concluded he’d done all that he could do, Howard simply refused to accept his fate. He was a father of three daughters, af - ter all, and he’d yet to see them graduate high school, marry or have children. He didn’t have any intention of missing out on these milestones. So, he decided to seek a second opinion from Dr. Daniel Von Hoff of the Translational Genomics Re - search Institute, setting the wheels in motion for a relationship that would help change the face of the modern pancreatic cancer community. One of the globe’s most prolific pancreatic cancer researchers, Dr. Von Hoff’s studies and clinical trials have led to some of the most significant medical advances ever made against the devastating disease. And while his scientific contributions and breakthroughs have saved and extended countless lives, it was his approach to working with pancreatic cancer patients that set him even further apart from the pack. “Here’s someone so brilliant that he’s working hand- in-hand with geneticists, but he’s also able to break BASED ON STATISTICS ALONE, HOWARD YOUNG PROBABLY SHOULDN’T BE HERE, BUT HE’S NEVER BEEN THE TYPE TO LET NUMBERS OR DATA DETERMINE HIS FATE.