Buresh Blog: Average date of the first freeze of the season... World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day

So it’s that time of year - winter is just around the corner & so is NE Florida’s/Southeast Georgia’s first first freeze of the season. The avg. date for Jacksonville’s first freeze (32 degrees or lower) is Dec. 6th. We are already at the avg. date of the first freeze for a good part of inland Southeast Ga., & I finally see some chilly temps. on the way.

Thursday, Nov. 21st is “World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day”. My mom fought a graceful but short 9 month battle against the ferocious disease more than 15 years ago. I chronicled my mom’s fight - “A Very Personal Journey: My Mom’s Fight Against Terminal Cancer”. While progress is being made - the survival rate beyond 5 years has only improved from 5% to 13% over the last 15 years - there is a long way to go. Some of the best research in the world is ongoing right now in the local area - at Mayo Clinic & MD Anderson. Along with Marithza Ross, I organized “Paddles for PanCan” sponsored by Mayo Clinic - a pickleball tournament to raise money for Jacksonville pancreatic cancer network. On a beautiful fall day, we raised awareness about pancreatic cancer & caregivers with help from OneBlood & the Northeast Fl. Salvation Army:

Several stories I’ve aired about pancreatic cancer are below. The last one is the most recent & is about Henry Turner who was diagnosed a little more than a year ago but is doing well at this point as the cancer was caught early during a routine physical. It’s a long interview at Mayo Clinic, but his words are powerful.