Project Purple Podcast

Dr. Anirban Maitra from the team at MD Anderson Cancer Center spoke to Dino at the AACR pancreatic cancer meeting in Boston. The long-time friend of Project Purple reminisced on the defining moment where he decided to research pancreatic cancer and reflected on how much the pancreatic cancer research field has changed. He also shared some of his hopes for the not so distant future.

Dr. Sahar Nissim of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital discusses how he got involved in pancreatic cancer research and how he is fighting for a cure.

We sat down with Briana Burt, our newest employee, to talk about her journey to Project Purple. Briana told us the incredible story of how she went from losing her scholarship as a collegiate soccer player at the University of Hartford to All-American hurdler at Southern Connecticut State University. After losing her aunt to pancreatic cancer in July, Briana now works full time at Project Purple,...

Chelsey Bunyer is back in action with Project Purple, now working as our Director of Development. She shares her Project Purple story so far as well as some valuable insight on fundraising in a world of decreased social media engagement.

Dino & Vin discuss the past, present, and future of our Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer program as well as best practices for fundraising and hosting an event. Producer Sam also joins in as the three discuss their recent trip to the CrossFit Games as new partners of the CrossFit Foundation.

Stephen Lease, Co-founder & CEO of Goodr, explains how the incredibly popular, fun, and authentic sunglasses brand came to be.

In this week's episode, we caught up with Kenny Santucci, GM of Solace New York, at the CrossFit games. Santucci offers unique insight into his mindset and explains how he went from college wrestler to Real World reality star to GM of one of the top gyms in the city (and everything in between).

Pam Perrone was getting ready for retirement with her husband, Steve. But when Steve was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, both of their lives changed dramatically. Nowadays, as Pam explains, "If he's not in the hospital, we're doing well." In this episode, Pam tells the story of the Perrone family, gives advice on how to mentally handle life as a caregiver, and explains why she believes that, "Be...

In this week's episode, we went to Providence, RI to interview the one and only Molly Huddle. The United States Track and Field 10,000 m champion and American record holder discussed her running journey, her connection to pancreatic cancer, what inspires her, why she is partially credited for creating the female runner emoji, and much more.

Project Purple is now on Charity Miles! To celebrate, we visited Stuyvesant Town in New York City to interview Gene Gurkoff, the CEO of Charity Miles. In this episode, we learn the story of Charity Miles and how this incredible app is "changing the landscape of philanthropy" through "the power of the crowd." Click the link below to get the app and start fundraising with your feet to benefit Projec...

Air Force veteran Stew Seltz was always considered by his doctor to be "healthy as an ox." But when he began experiencing digestive issues and abdominal pain, he knew something was wrong. What he was not expecting was a pancreatic cancer diagnosis and the turbulence that would come with it. Regardless, Stew chooses to stay positive as he continues his fight.

If you haven't started training for fall marathons already, the time is coming soon! Running Coach John Honerkamp called in to episode 68 to share some of his wisdom on the importance of scheduling, moderation, variation, and flexibility in training.

Stephanie Lieber and Jackie Herigodt of Imerman Angels tell the stories of how they got involved with helping cancer patients, how Imerman Angels matches cancer patients with mentors, and more!

During his two years of treatment for testicular cancer, Jonny Imerman noticed that while he had support from friends and family, a lot of other cancer fighters were isolated. That's where he got the idea for Imerman Angels, a nonprofit that matches cancer patients with "mentor angels" to guide them through their fight.

Survivor Rick Jones talks about his unique battle with pancreatic cancer. After a successful pancreatectomy, this accountant is no longer counting his days and is living his life to the fullest.

We traveled to New York City to interview pancreatic cancer survivor Stephen Schulman and caregiver Wade Richards about their long and difficult road "to get to the point where life wasn't all about cancer."

In September of 2018, the AAA Hamden office found out that their beloved co-worker, Brendan Coughlin, was suffering from pancreatic cancer. On December 7, Coughlin passed away. In honor of the regional director who they regard as, "One of the kindest men they had ever met," some of his co-workers joined Project Purple's Steps For a Cure event in Norwalk, CT as "Team Coughlin." With contributions f...

Pancreatic cancer survivor, police officer, and fitness enthusiast Michael Juliano talks about his battle with pancreatic cancer and how the "power of the mind" and a positive attitude are helping him with his fight. Despite his Stage 4 diagnosis, Mike is still pumping iron in the gym. Although he may not be exercising with the same intensity as he was before, Juliano believes that continuing to d...

Kelly Traverso talks about how her family helped her step-mother-in-law, Judy, through her battle with pancreatic cancer. Although Judy eventually passed away from pancreatic cancer, she had a tremendous impact on her family and the 8 young grandchildren who love her. Today, Kelly is spreading awareness of the "silent killer" that is pancreatic cancer because she, "Wants it to not be so silent any...

Picking up from where she left off, Amanda Sullivan continues her amazing story. After her mother once cared for her, Amanda found herself caring for her mother when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Sadly, Amanda eventually lost her mom but learned valuable lessons and a new perspective from taking care of her mother during her fight. Amanda would later need those lessons when she found o...

Amanda Sullivan tells the first part of her incredible story. From missionary work in Mexico to defying the odds and learning how to run races on crutches after two serious accidents left her suffering from traumatic physical injuries and depression, Amanda is no stranger to battling adversity. Amanda's emotional story of strength and courage through darkness is both powerful and uplifting. Discla...

The Project Purple Podcast team traveled to New York City to interview Dr. Diane Simeone, MD and genetic counselor Jessica Everett about the early detection and screening efforts for pancreatic cancer going on at NYU Langone's Pancreatic Cancer Center. As the NYU team puts it, "Screening saves lives." We highly recommend listening to this episode if you have any familial history of pancreatic canc...

Dustin Clark from the country band Fogline joins the Project Purple Podcast to talk about his music as well as his friendship with Rick Carone, a strong advocate for pancreatic cancer research and awareness who passed away from this disease. Dustin and the rest of his band members in Fogline regularly play the Team Carone Foundation's #Shutdowncancer Music Festival in Rick's honor. You can click t...

When he was growing up, Tim Carone lost his mother to pancreatic cancer. When his brother, Rick, was later diagnosed during Tim's adult life, the family started the Team Carone Foundation. Unfortunately Rick passed away in 2017. Now Tim is carrying on his brother's legacy by raising money for pancreatic cancer research and spreading awareness for pancreatic cancer. To learn more about the Team Car...

As a former beauty and health editor at Harper's Bazaar, Sharon Zambrelli knew that something was not quite right with her body. After seeing a slight yellowing in her eyes, she decided to visit her doctor and it was there that she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. After a long journey, Sharon has defied the odds and is here to share some advice for those who are currently fighting and tell th...