Project Purple Podcast

Joining the Project Purple Podcast from right outside Ann Arbor, MI, pancreatic cancer survivor Nora Plank gives an emotional story of her diagnosis, treatment, and life after pancreatic cancer. Nora’s journey began with a middle-of-the-night trip to the emergency room for hernia surgery, where a CT unexpectedly revealed a spot on her pancreas. With the advantage of a “lottery ticket” early diagno...

Joining the Project Purple Podcast from Evans, GA, triathlete Don Belisle guides listeners through his “ticking time bomb” health journey with host Dino Verrelli. After repeated assurances by doctors that his pancreatitis was nothing to worry about, Don decides to go with his gut and drive across the country to seek a second opinion. That decision ultimately led to a life-saving surgery and change...

In this episode, Project Purple Founder and CEO Dino Verrelli sits down with author and pancreatic cancer survivor Mark Scarbrough. After an ER visit for a suspected heart attack, Mark was unexpectedly diagnosed with Stage 1 colloid pancreatic cancer: an incredibly rare form of the disease. Mark opens up about the complex decisions surrounding his treatment, including why he chose a traditional op...

Joining the Project Purple Podcast from Rhode Island, pancreatic cancer survivor and author Marla Schreffler shares a story shaped by intuition, timing, and persistence with host Dino Verrelli. A school psychologist by profession, Marla reflects on how her life before diagnosis was defined by overall health and a heightened awareness of changes in her body: an awareness that ultimately played a ke...

Joining the Project Purple Podcast from Manchester, Connecticut, pancreatic cancer survivor Michelle Richards and her husband and caregiver Brian share a powerful story of resilience, faith, and facing the unknown together with host Dino Verrelli. Having already navigated cancer many times within their family, including their son’s battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple relatives affected, Mi...

Joining the Project Purple Podcast from Brooklyn, Keith De-Lin takes listeners on a journey from a misdiagnosis to discovering a rare neuroendocrine pancreatic tumor with host Dino Verrelli. A lifelong vegan and dedicated fitness enthusiast, Keith was always focused on his health, but at 48, persistent acid reflux and unusual symptoms led him to push for answers that would change his life. Initial...

Joining the Project Purple Podcast is Andrew Waters, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medical Surgical Oncology at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Waters joins host Dino Verrelli to discuss his lab’s recent research recovery grant from Project Purple and his journey into pancreatic cancer research. Dr. Waters discusses the critical role of KRAS mutations that are found in about 93-94% of pancreatic c...

Joining the Project Purple Podcast from Indiana, pancreatic cancer survivor Beth Benedix has a deeply reflective and powerful conversation with host Dino Verrelli. A professor emerita of world literature, religious studies, and community engagement at DePauw University, Beth is also the founder of a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing joy and creativity back into classrooms: an effort tha...

In this in-depth episode of the Project Purple Podcast, CEO & Founder Dino Verrelli welcomes Dr. Despina Siolas, a physician-scientist at Cornell University whose work spans both the clinic and the research lab. With an M.D. from Stony Brook School of Medicine, a Ph. D. in genetics from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and medical oncology training at NYU, Dr. Siolas brings a unique perspective to t...

Joining the Project Purple Podcast from Marina del Rey, California, Stage 4 pancreatic cancer survivor Mark Allen Ruegg shares his extraordinary journey from a sudden, life-altering diagnosis to becoming a powerful advocate for healing and hope with host Dino Verrelli. Mark built a life rooted in creativity as a dancer and co-owner of a small production company with his wife until everything chang...

Joining the Project Purple Podcast from the Los Angeles area, film and television professional Matt Cassani sits down with host Dino Verrelli to share his experience being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at just 34 years old, and the long, uncertain road that followed. Matt opens up about the subtle but persistent symptoms he initially dismissed, including stomach discomfort and abdominal pressur...

Joining the Project Purple Podcast from sunny Venice, Florida, originally from Wisconsin, pancreatic cancer survivor Rhonda Vavrek sits down with host Dino Verrelli to share her remarkable journey through a changing diagnosis and what it truly means to keep going when the road is anything but straight. Rhonda shares how, in June 2012, what began as upper back pain and jaundice led to a pancreatic...

On this episode of the Project Purple Podcast, host Dino Verrelli sits down with Andy Lyons, a commercial photographer from the heart of the Midwest, Iowa, as he shares his deeply personal journey with familial pancreatic cancer. With a family history spanning three generations, affecting countless family members, including his grandmother, mother, and brother, Andy has long felt the shadow of thi...

Joining the Project Purple Podcast from Brownton, Minnesota, home to the land of 10,000 lakes, seven-year pancreatic cancer survivor Rita Krueger sits down with host Dino Verrelli to share her extraordinary story of perseverance, faith, and finding purpose after a life-altering diagnosis. Rita was diagnosed in March 2018, and soon learned she would need a full pancreatectomy: a life-changing surge...

Tuning in from across the Atlantic, from Cork, Ireland, pancreatic cancer survivor Pamela Deasy joins host Dino Verrelli to offer a unique, international perspective on the realities of the disease, the power of perseverance, and insights for patients, families, and listeners worldwide in this episode of the Project Purple Podcast. Pamela shares that her journey began in the summer of 2018, when p...

Anne Dirkse is an avid cyclist, endurance athlete, software developer, and lover of all things outdoors from Loveland, Colorado. On this episode of the Project Purple Podcast, she shares the personal philosophies that guide her through her Stage 4 pancreatic cancer journey. Diagnosed in March 2025, Anne draws on a lifetime of physical fitness, nutrition, and resilience to face the challenges of he...

Jon Fox, a 41-year-old Staten Island native, shares his unique and inspiring journey on this episode of the Project Purple Podcast with host Dino Verrelli. Jon’s story begins unexpectedly at 37, when he was diagnosed with aggressive, metastatic testicular cancer: a diagnosis that would soon lead to the discovery of another, more unexpected health challenge: Stage 1 localized pancreatic cancer. Jon...

Danielle Buchanan, a proud Texan, devoted wife, and mother of three boys shares her deeply personal and inspiring journey on this episode of the Project Purple Podcast with host Dino Verrelli. A registered nurse and lifelong picture of health, Danielle reflects on how her life changed suddenly in February 2021, when unusual symptoms after a family Super Bowl celebration led to imaging that reveale...

In this eye-opening episode of the Project Purple Podcast, host Dino Verrelli has a compelling conversation with Amy Johnston of Pennsylvania, a 34-year-old mother of three young kids, who says that listening to her instincts and advocating for herself made all the difference in her journey with pancreatic cancer. Amy talks about how just a couple of months ago, she was at her healthiest—working o...

In this extremely motivational episode of the Project Purple Podcast, host Dino Verrelli speaks with Michael Kennedy of Vermont, a lawyer and avid runner whose 20 years on the roads and trails unexpectedly prepared him for the toughest marathon of his life: pancreatic cancer. Michael shares how his story began in 2023, a year packed with long runs, two marathons, and a 100‑mile relay. But when bac...

In this episode of the Project Purple Podcast, host Dino Verrelli speaks with Carmen Stewart, a pancreatic cancer survivor from across the globe, calling in all the way from Johannesburg, South Africa. Her story is one of perseverance, clarity, and transformation in the face of staggering odds. Carmen opens up about her whirlwind diagnosis in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, which followed mont...

Bill Perkins, founder of Top Fan Rivalry, a baseball-centered community organization and a pancreatic cancer survivor, speaks with host Dino Verrelli in this powerful episode of the Project Purple Podcast. Hailing from Laguna Beach in the OC, Bill’s story is as candid as it is inspiring. He shares how a moment in early 2022, when his wife noticed he looked jaundiced, set off a whirlwind of tests t...

In this episode of the Project Purple Podcast, host Dino Verrelli speaks with Lew Worthington, a former pastor and seminary professor turned author from Lansing, Michigan. He courageously shares his remarkable journey with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, describing how a persistent side pain quickly turned into a life-altering diagnosis in 2020 that he was told gave him just months to live. Lew recount...

Every Labor Day, over 5,000 runners and 10,000 spectators fill the streets of New Haven for one of Connecticut’s most beloved events. At the heart of it all is John Bysiewicz, race director of the Faxon Law New Haven Road Races since 1989 and founder of JB Sports, the company behind over 20 more races and 30,000 participants annually. In this heartfelt episode of the Project Purple Podcast, host D...

“I think that’s what I would define pancreatic cancer as: never, ever give up.” In this powerful episode of the Project Purple Podcast, host Dino Verrelli speaks with Kelianne O’Shea, a 29-year-old from Cape May, New Jersey, who was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer just one year ago. Now on maintenance chemo and marking a full year of what she calls “surviving pancreatic cancer,” Kelian...