A cause for celebration.
This is what it should have been for Bernice Blanchard of Barrie. Blanchard was in the Caribbean three years ago to mark her retirement and her 60th birthday.
Blanchard first began feeling unwell while in the Caribbean, initially brushing off symptoms like vomiting and digestive issues as something she may have picked up locally.
“I turned quite jaundiced, and my eyes were yellow, and my skin was yellowing,” she said.
Blanchard was seen by a doctor there, who advised her to return home to Canada as soon as possible.
Blanchard flew back to Ontario, where her son met her at the airport and took her to the emergency department at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie. That night, doctors reviewed tests she had completed abroad and ordered further imaging at RVH.
In the early hours of the morning, Blanchard was told she had a cancerous tumour on her pancreas.
She was referred to Toronto for a Whipple procedure, a complex surgery used to treat pancreatic cancer when it has not yet spread beyond the pancreas.
However, once surgeons began the operation, they discovered the cancer had already spread. Blanchard was classified as Stage 4 and told she likely had about a year to live.
“It’s devastating,” she said. “At first, I didn’t believe it. I didn’t think it was bad, and I thought it was going to be something else.”
The Whipple procedure at the Toronto hospital, and the start of chemotherapy every two weeks at RVH, is what made it sink in for Blanchard, and how bad it was.
She was part of a clinical trial at the very beginning of her cancer journey. The trial stunted her tumour, and Blanchard believes that has given her life an extension.
The former school board employee began to research on the internet. The homework paid off.
She learned about Craig's Cause Pancreatic Cancer Society (CCPCS), a national voice for public awareness, patient advocacy, healthcare education, and research in Canada.
It is in remembrance of Craig Schurman Condon of Nova Scotia. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in June 2026 and died eight weeks later at age 63.
In his memory, his daughter, Stephanie Condon, launched CCPCS in 2007. It became a registered charity five years later, and in 2014, the first Craig's Cause 5 km run/walk event was held in Dartmouth. It has since expanded to include all 10 provinces.
After participating in the Burlington walk, Blanchard decided to make Craig's Cause her cause for those battling pancreatic cancer.
On May 9, the first Craig's Cause walk https://raceroster.com/events/2026/113877/kicking-pancreas-5k-barrie-ontario will be held in Barrie. The event is called "Kicking PancreAS," and it will be held in the evening, on the waterfront, beginning at Centennial Park and heading just north of Heritage Park.
When talking with Blanchard, it is apparent that Craig's Cause is not just a mission; it is also part of her treatment.
"It's really great to be able to talk to people that are going through the same thing and really understand what you're going through."
The colour for pancreatic cancer is purple, and participants are encouraged to wear that colour, and glow-in-the-dark gear.
Blanchard set a $10,000 fundraising goal, and to her amazement, more than $32,000 has been donated so far.
Research into pancreatic cancer has not come up with a cure, but lives like Blanchard's have been given a new lease.
"There has been progress, because 10 years ago, there weren't any clinical trials, and I am so lucky I got into a clinical trial right away."
About 7,100 Canadians are expected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer annually, and roughly 6,300 are expected to die from the disease, according to the most recent estimates from the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) based on national data compiled in the Canadian Cancer Statistics 2025 report.
The CCS says pancreatic cancer is often difficult to detect early because it typically does not cause noticeable symptoms in its early stages. When symptoms do appear, they are often vague, such as fatigue, back pain, or abdominal discomfort. By the time symptoms become obvious, the cancer is often advanced.
The CCS explains that the pancreas is an organ in the abdomen that helps the body digest food and controls blood sugar by producing digestive enzymes and hormones like insulin.
"I didn't even really know what my pancreas did until I found out I had pancreatic cancer," she says. "It's one of the unknown ones."
