Russell Killen signs a lot of proclamations as mayor of Knightdale.

But one he signed recently that hit especially close to home.

“That one was very different for me,” said Killen of the document declaring November Pancreatic Cancer month. “My mother and two of her sisters died of pancreatic cancer. We all are very directly affected by that disease.”

Killen’s mother, Linda Killen, died last Dec. 11 and his aunts Annie Bogue and Ruth Mercer also were victims of the disease.

Killen said lots of families go through the pain of cancer illnesses and deaths, but what stands out for pancreatic cancer is that there are very few survivors.

“Ninety-five percent of the people die within 18 months,” he said. “Most people diagnosed with it don’t live long enough to be spokespeople for it.”

And being a spokesperson for it means getting dollars for pancreatic cancer research which is why Killen is doing his part.

Pancreatic cancer begins when abnormal cells grow out of control within the pancreas.
Now Killen is doing his part to fight the cancer.

Killen, his sister, Karen Banks, and several cousins are participating in a study on pancreatic cancer at UNC.

“When mom was alive, she went to investigate some study treatments at UNC,”said Killen. “The folks conducting research saw the history of pancreatic cancer in our family and asked us to participate in the study.”

Killen and his daughter Rachel attended a Pancreatic Cancer Network fundraiser at Mimi’s Café in Cary last Monday night. Morrisville Mayor Jan Faulkner, Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht and others came out to raise money and awareness about the disease, he said.

Longtime UNC Greensboro Chancellor Patricia Sullivan has died.

She was 69.

Sullivan died early Thursday after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

Sullivan was UNCG's chancellor for nearly 14 years, from January 1995 to July 2008.

“Her leadership and dedication, and her fighting spirit, have made an indelible mark on the life of this university," said her successor, Linda Brady. "I feel the loss personally because Pat has been a source of advice and counsel during my first year as chancellor. She was a good friend to me as a newcomer to Greensboro. We shall miss her."

Under Sullivan's leadership, UNCG experienced a physical transformation. The campus spent $500 million on new construction and renovation during her tenure, including the creation of four new major academic buildings.

Enrollment boomed during Sullivan's tenure, a 36 percent hike from 12,644 in 1995 to 17,407 when she retired last year.

And UNCG expanded its programs as well, adding nine doctoral programs and establishing more than 15 research centers. One of particular note in Greensboro: the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, with North Carolina A & T University, which is also in Grensboro.

A native New Yorker, Sullivan came to Greensboro from Texas Woman's University, becoming UNCG's first female leader.

And the longer she worked at UNCG, the better she was liked in the community, said Jim Phillips, a Greensboro attorney and former chairman of the governing board overseeing the UNC system, of which UNCG is a member campus.

"She had a real way about her, saying her piece and being forceful without being offensive," Phillips said. "Pat wore very well in this community. The longer she was here, the more her stature grew."

UNCG has some more information here.