Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month declared in Agawam

Date: 11/7/2014

AGAWAM – Mayor Richard Cohen declared November Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in Agawam, presenting the proclamation to Angela Beaudry and her family on Nov. 4 in his office.

Angela was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year and has chosen to undergo aggressive chemotherapy.

After the diagnosis, her family began to notice that there was not much awareness about the disease, and it was Angela’s granddaughter Mariangelie and daughter-in-law Madeline who were the catalyst for the proclamation.

Mariangelie and Madeline were watching television and the wheels began turning.

“[Mariangelie] goes, ‘You know what, Mom? Everything is pink, pink, pink. That’s fine, but what about grandma’s cancer?’” Madeline said.

The two did some research and found out November and purple were dedicated to pancreatic cancer awareness, following Breast Cancer Awareness month in October. They also discovered that Nov. 13 is World Pancreatic Cancer Day.

For Madeline, her daughter’s words and actions sparked the movement for Agawam.

“Out of hearing her say that, it kind of brought out a little light bulb and that’s when I went to Angela,” Madeline said.

Within a few weeks, they had their proclamation, one that Mayor Cohen agreed to immediately. 

“This is wonderful because it’s not about me. It’s about the awareness,” Angela said. “If we can help one person, we’ve made a difference.”

The proclamation comes for simple awareness – not fundraising. For most people, by the time symptoms begin to show, the cancer is in the later stages and it is too late, so the mission to get the word out is a crucial one.

“Hopefully on Nov. 13 they’ll be a lot of purple around Agawam,” Angela said.