Dear Editor: November is National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. I encourage you to visit www.knowitfightitendit.org to learn how to take action against the fourth leading cause of cancer death in our country. With your help, we will increase the number of our community volunteers and advocates, and urge them to raise awareness and help us raise the cure.

By the end of this year, this deadly disease will have claimed more than 35,000 loved ones. Among them notable American's including actor Patrick Swayze, NCAA President Myles Brand and NBA Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly.

Whether well known or not, they are all people like us - mothers, fathers, siblings and grandparents in families like yours and mine.

Pancreatic cancer is affecting more and more people each year. The only way to reverse this trend is to increase the number of people who know about pancreatic cancer and understand how to join in the fight to end it.

Join me, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network this November and help raise awareness of this deadly disease.