TEMPE, AZ — The Steppin' Up Against Pancreatic Cancer Walk takes place at Mountain America Stadium on Saturday. The event, hosted by the Seena Magowitz Foundation and HonorHealth, raises awareness and research funding while connecting patients and caregivers with resources.
For one Valley native, it is about more than fundraising. The resources she has received throughout her treatment have helped her "phenomenally."
Pam Jackson said her June 2023 pancreatic cancer diagnosis was traumatizing.
"I went to a dark place because I didn't know how to receive that," she said.
After four months of chemotherapy and surgery on her pancreas and spleen, she entered remission. But two years later, in summer 2025, the cancer recurred — spreading to her liver and advancing to Stage 4.
"I felt like I had maybe a year at that point," Jackson said.
Pancreatic cancer accounts for roughly 3% of all cancers in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society, and about 8% of cancer deaths. The organization estimated more than 67,000 people would be diagnosed with the disease in 2026.
Jackson enrolled in a clinical trial testing a drug called daraxonrasib at the HonorHealth Research Institute in Scottsdale. The results were dramatic.
"Sure enough, it's been amazing ever since because it started shrinking the mass on my liver," she said.
The mass shrank by 43% in just over a year, Jackson said.
Daraxonrasib, now marketed as Rasonque, received FDA approval in August. HonorHealth said patients with pancreatic cancer — a disease with a 13% five-year survival rate — are now seeing double the life expectancy with the drug.
Today, Jackson's outlook has transformed.
"I feel like there's no time on it right now," she said. "It's just, keep going and living life to the fullest."
Erin Pierce, a nurse practitioner and associate clinical investigator at the HonorHealth Research Institute in Scottsdale, has been with Jackson throughout her treatment.
"It gives you goosebumps to look at someone and [say], 'We actually made a difference. We've got a good scan,'" Pierce said. "There's nothing better in the world. I mean, I've broken down crying with some of my patients."
Jackson's message to others facing a similar diagnosis is simple.
"It starts there in your mind, so it is mind over matter," Jackson said.
This Saturday, Nov. 14, Jackson will be surrounded by loved ones at the Steppin' Up Against Pancreatic Cancer Walk. She said she will be joined by two dozen family members and friends.
The event, hosted by the Seena Magowitz Foundation (SMF) and HonorHealth, begins at 10 a.m. Registration opens at 9 a.m.
Steps from both a family-friendly 100-meter route and a 5K course in and around the stadium will be tracked and counted to symbolize "the shared strides toward research progress and brighter futures." Resources available at the event include SMF programs and initiatives, as well as information on nutrition, patient support programs, and social services.
