Jack Andraka (Photo credit: Open Science Federation)
Tonight, on 60 Minutes there was a story about a 15-year-old science prodigy who is working on a way to detect early the presence of pancreatic cancer in patients. Most of the time, patients, like myself, discover they have pancreatic cancer after it has already metastasized to another organ in addition to the pancreas.
This young man’s name is Jack Andraka. The story on 60 Minutes focused on how this teenager, who has a long-time love of science, had lost a friend/relative to pancreatic cancer and decided he wanted to develop tools that would help doctors detect pancreatic cancer early before this cancer moved to other organs.
He apparently developed his approach, put it into a proposal and sent it to over 100 cancer research organizations. Only one, MDAnderson in Houston, Texas, decided to give the young man a try.
He has had some remarkable results, which in turn has turned him into a celebrity, of sorts — four times to the White House this year alone. But his approach for early detection is showing some tremendous promise.
If you want to learn more about Jack and how he has proceeded thus far, click on the link below for the story on 60 Minutes Overtime. Congratulations to Jack and his very supportive parents.
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- The Inspring Story Of 15-Year-Old Jack Andraka (buzzfeed.com)
fighting damien 
October 13, 2013 at 9:13 PM
Hey Chicago ‘D’/ Deep in the heart ‘D’
I watched 60 Minutes this evening in breath taking awe, thinking of you.
One thing is certain. You have defied all odds; created your own future, built with love and family, surrounded with your special splash of humble humor. You have inspired many with your steady strength. You may have even surprised yourself with your steely steadfast approach to a disease that appears to be no match for you!!
James Taylor singing ‘The River Is Wide’ is one of my favorite treasured tunes. Thanks for sharing that song. It reminded me of simple easy times and the importance of being supportive..
You continue to inspire, amaze and amuze. Cheers to surrounding yourself with simple easy times smothered with laughter, and friends and family..
Yours with affection,
Cheri
October 24, 2013 at 5:36 AM
He is absolutely amazing and so inspiring.
June 4, 2014 at 1:29 PM
Spot on with this write-up, I seriously believe this site needs a lot more attention. I’ll probably be returning to read through more, thanks for the advice!