Local Runner to Go 26 Miles in Honor of Friend's Mother

Brian Miller, of Dix Hills, had run the New York Marathon once before and vowed to never run it again. But last year, when he realized he would be turning 40 this May, he decided to give it another try.

When his best friend's mother died of pancreatic cancer on May 19, 2009, Miller thought, "What better way to run 26 miles than to think of how others are going through such hardships out there?"

So Miller and his friend Jeffrey Blick of Syosset, who will be running the marathon with him, set up a website to raise money for the Lustgarten Foundation, a nonprofit that raises money for pancreatic cancer research. Their goal is to raise $25,000 in Rona Hafter's name – their college fraternity brother Robert Hafter's mother, who they knew for over 20 years since they were at SUNY Albany together.

"Rona was very compassionate and giving and was only 64 when she died," Miller said of Hafter's mother, who was a teacher. She left behind a son, a daughter, her husband, and three grandkids. In fact, she held on long enough to be around for Robert's birthday (May 15) as well as for her husband and daughter's birthdays (May 18). She died on May 19.

"It was as if she waited around for their birthdays before she died," Miller said.

Hafter added, "My mom was the greatest person ever—the greatest mom, the greatest wife, grandmother, etc. She was married for 41 years—a picture-perfect marriage. This is a huge tragedy for us. We are still having a tough time."

Hafter is thrilled that Miller and Blick — his two best friends — are running this marathon for his mom and are trying to raise money for pancreatic cancer research. "It's unbelievable what they're doing," he said. "I can't even put into words how happy this makes me. My mom loved Brian and Jeff. That's how she was. If you were close to me, my mom loved you. She loved whoever I was friends with."

Miller has been training by running 12, 15 or 18 miles every Saturday in Dix Hills. "It's good to train on hilly terrain," Miller said. "It's good for the stamina." He will also be running the Cow Harbor Day 10K on Sept. 26, as he has the last few years. Blick will be running that one with him as well.

"It's a beautiful but tough race," Miller said. "Very hilly. I hope we have great weather, as we've had for the past few races."

Miller has only had his website up a few weeks and already he is one-third of the way to his goal of $25,000. He hopes by raising this money he can help to raise awareness about pancreatic cancer and at the same time to fund research for this horrible disease.

"Rona touched so many people in her lifetime and with your help we can allow her legacy to continue by raising money to help families who are dealing with this devastating disease," Miller said. 

Pancreatic cancer is often labeled a silent disease because many times the signs and symptoms can go unnoticed until the cancer is in the advanced stage. Even when there are early signs and symptoms, they may be vague and easily attributed to another disease. 

According to the Lustgarten Foundation, "Pancreatic cancer has no early warning signs, and there are no effective screening tests. As a result, pancreatic cancer rarely is discovered early. Many times the diagnosis is not made until the cancer has spread to other areas of the body. Unfortunately, symptoms of pancreatic cancer often do not appear until the tumor has grown large enough to interfere with the function of nearby organs or exert pressure on the spine. When early symptoms do occur, they are often vague and nonspecific."

Pancreatic cancer is a very deadly disease. Some stats from the Lustgarten Foundation: In the United States, cancer of the pancreas is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women. In 2008, about 38,000 patients were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Almost all patients with pancreatic cancer are older than 55 years (90 percent), and more than 70 percent are older than 65 years. Unfortunately, pancreatic cancer can also occur in younger people, especially those who have a family history of the disease. Today, better diagnostic tests and newer treatments are beginning to change these statistics and provide a more optimistic future for patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.