Jaguars coach Doug Pederson shares with Mike Buresh pancreatic cancer’s impact on his life

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Today (Thu., Nov. 16) is World Pancreatic Cancer Day to raise awareness by sharing facts about the disease, survivor stories, and what you can do to make an impact.

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Chief Meteorologist Mike Buresh sat down with Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson to talk about how pancreatic cancer has touched his life. Doug’s brother, Craig, passed away from the disease at 51 years old just 9 months after being diagnosed. Doug was in-between coaching jobs -- something he describes as “lucky” allowing him to spend a lot of time with Craig and his family. While Doug watched cancer quite literally eat away at his brother, coach Pederson watched his sister-in-law – the caregiver – balance life between caring for her husband, helping their two daughters come to terms with their dad’s illness, and still working at her teaching job.

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Pederson said he’s now much more aware and proactive about staying healthy and makes sure his own family stays in tune with what their body might be telling them. “Be your own advocate when it comes to your health”.

Pancreatic cancer has hit close to home for some of the Action News Jax family. Brent Martineau lost his grandmother to the disease, Alivia Tassley’s uncle passed away just a couple of months ago and Mike Buresh’s mom passed away after a very graceful 9-month battle against the disease. You can read about his mom’s journey in the Buresh Blog: “A Very Personal Journey: My mom’s fight against terminal cancer”.

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And mark your calendar for Sat., Apr. 27, and PurpleStride -- a walk/run at Treaty Oak Park in downtown Jacksonville to raise funds for pancreatic cancer survivors and research. Chief Meteorologist Mike Buresh will be the emcee and Action News Jax is the media sponsor.

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