The UCLA Center for Human Nutrition is looking for volunteers for a medically-supervised study funded in part by the Hirshberg Foundation. This study seeks to investigate the effect of oral nutritional supplements in patients with pancreatic cancer.

As we know, many patients with pancreatic cancer experience weight loss and weakness. These side affects often impair overall quality of life and can complicate treatment. This study aims to examine the effect of dietary counseling with and without nutrition supplementation in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer. Entitled,  “Nutritional study to improve outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer that cannot be treated by surgery,” volunteers are asked to participate in 6 clinical visits over the course of at least 16 weeks.

You May Be Eligible If You:

• Have been diagnosed with unresectable pancreatic cancer (meaning you are not a surgical candidate)
• Have lost weight in the past 6 months
• Are over 18 years of age
• Are a non-smoker

The study includes 6 clinic visits scheduled 4 weeks apart.

At each clinic visit:

• Blood samples taken
• You will meet with a registered dietitian
• You will be weighed and have your vital signs measured
• You will be asked to complete a food record
• You will be asked to complete a 6-minute walk without assistance

This study is being conducted by:  Zhaoping Li, MD, PhD; Seper Dezfoli, MD; Vijiya Surampudi, MD; Lee Rosen, MD

This study has concluded and is no longer seeking volunteers.

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest of all cancers, with a five-year survival rate of around 4 percent. It’s no wonder that battling the disease takes a toll on caregivers as well as patients.

The UCLA School of Nursing hopes to improve the quality of life for patients and their loved ones through a generous grant from the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. The grant will fund a study to be led by Professor Lynn Doering and Associate Professor Eunice Lee.

Although there is ongoing research into a cure for pancreatic cancer, this study is the first to focus on the issues that often surround the illness, including depression and dealing with the symptoms of disease and the side effects of treatment, such as pain and fatigue.

“While most studies focus on the cure, nurses are focused on the care,” Dean Linda Sarna said. “I think this is an exciting opportunity to make a difference in a disease that is one of the deadliest cancers.”

There is evidence that, when treatment of patient-report symptoms are integrated into routine care, survival time increases. It’s also imperative to provide supportive care to reduce hospital stays and preserve quality of life, Sarna noted.

This innovative new study will look for a link between nurse contact and patient well-being and will employ an online nursing intervention to improve depression. It also will evaluate how the smartphone app chemoWave can increase collaboration with caregivers and improve patient well-being by recording and monitoring patients’ physical and emotional states.

“We are truly appreciative of the opportunity to conduct this study in order to grow science in the field, and help patients with pancreatic cancer,” Professor Doering said. “We are particularly excited to integrate this unique cancer-specific smartphone application to address depressive symptoms, and overall quality of life for these patients.”

Agi Hirshberg, who established the foundation after her husband died after an eight-month, seven-day battle with pancreatic cancer, said she is grateful to the School of Nursing for taking on the challenge of improving the lives of patients and their families. “It is my heartfelt passion to ensure the best possible outcome for pancreatic diseases, this time without any additional medication, relying on the human touch.”

Citywide Tribute to Turn Town Gold Saturday Night in Jonathan’s Honor

On July 28, Gold’s birthday, landmarks from L.A. City Hall to the Ferris wheel
on the Santa Monica Pier will be lit up with gold to celebrate the late food critic

LOS ANGELES – July 26, 2018 – Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times restaurant critic who richly chronicled the city’s vast culinary and cultural landscape, died on July 21 at the age of 57. As many have noted in recent days, Gold had a unique gift for making a sprawling metropolis feel like a community. This Saturday, July 28, in honor of what would have been Gold’s 58th birthday, the community will come together for a special tribute with several buildings and landmarks around town displaying messages and lighting up with gold inspired by “the Belly of Los Angeles”.

After sundown on Saturday, buildings and landmarks including the L.A. Times headquarters in El Segundo, L.A. City Hall tower, Wilshire Grand Center, The Broad, US Bank Tower, Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain in Grand Park, Natural History Museum, pylons at LAX and Pacific Wheel on the Santa Monica Pier will be illuminated for the occasion. Additional venues and events, including The Wiltern, the Ford Theatres, The Theatre at Ace Hotel, Chinatown Summer Nights and the Fairplex in Pomona will also display messages and projections in Gold’s honor, with more to be confirmed and all welcome to participate.

Gold died of pancreatic cancer last Saturday after being diagnosed in early July. He and his wife, Times arts and entertainment editor Laurie Ochoa, have two children, 23-year-old Isabel and 15-year-old Leon. The Gold-Ochoa family asks that, in lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Gold’s life consider supporting any of these nonprofit organizations: L.A. Regional Food Bank, Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, Heal the Bay or Al Otro Lado. Friends of the Ochoa-Gold family have also created a GoFundMe campaign to assist them with immediate expenses.

Another public event celebrating his life, which will include an opportunity for the community to gather together, is being planned for Sunday, August 26. The location and details will be announced soon.

The Los Angeles Times thanks the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Offices of L.A. County Supervisors Hilda L. Solis and Sheila Kuehl, KCRW, Central City Association, Grand Park and The Music Center, Live Nation, Los Angeles Chinatown BID, Los Angeles World Airports, OUE Ltd., Pacific Park and all of the participating organizations for this special tribute to the city’s beloved food critic, Jonathan Gold. The community is encouraged to share photos of the tribute using #LAGold.

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The Hirshberg Foundation is excited to announce that video presentations of the 14th Annual Symposium on Pancreatic Cancer are now viewable on our website. Hosted in collaboration with the UCLA Agi Hirshberg Center for Pancreatic Diseases, 200 caregivers, survivors, medical professionals and researchers attended the Hirshberg Foundation’s most important patient and caregiver event of the year. This was the first time the symposium was hosted at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center, providing an inspirational learning environment in a thoughtfully designed space.

The Symposium provides an experience where patients and their caregivers may ask questions, explore new options, understand advances in research and begin making informed decisions. As in years past, the symposium included several esteemed guest speakers, survivors and caregivers, each sharing expertise, unique perspectives and personal experiences with pancreatic cancer. Speakers focused on topics that would educate and empower families facing this disease.

“Each year our goal is to educate, empower and instill hope – once again we’ve made that a reality,” said Agi Hirshberg, Founder and CEO of the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. “We hope you will watch and learn from these newly released videos and the valuable information shared at the event.”

The Foundation staff works hard to ensure that the annual event is free of charge for all attendees. “We want to thank our sponsors, Incyte and Joanne & Ken Weinman, for their support“, said Lisa Manheim, Executive Director of the Hirshberg Foundation. She added, “The success of the symposium is made possible by the generosity of private donors, the participation of attendees and the expertise of our guest speakers.”

Plans are already underway for the 15th Annual Symposium on Pancreatic Cancer, to be held on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center.

It is with great sadness that the Hirshberg Foundation shares the news of the passing of Dr. Wai-Nang Paul Lee, our distinguished member of our Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Lee passed away this week from pancreatic cancer – a disease that he studied for the last 40 years of his life.

He was a mentor to many medical colleagues who pioneered biochemistry and metabolic profiling for translational and clinical medicine. His contributions are extraordinary and his publications are cited in fundamental papers in medical literature close to 10,000 times. Dr. Lee was one of the first investigators to develop exact mathematical tools to process large amounts of metabolic profiling data, nevertheless his interpretations moved metabolic disease towards a functional arena involving biochemistry and physiology named tracer-based metabolomics.

Dr. Lee was a 2014 Hirshberg Seed Grant Recipient for his project titled “Metabolic Profile of Gemcitabine Resistance in pancreatic cancer.” Most recently, Dr. Lee was a Professor of Pediatrics at Harbor-UCLA and the Director, Biomedical Mass Spectrometry Facility at Harbor-UCLA LA Biomed Research Institute. His bio can be read here.

Brandon Walters of Gemini Timing has been a part of the Orange County Triathlon for the past seven years.   Now, with his new company Five Point Productions, he is the owner of the Orange County Triathlon. Brandon was looking for his next step in the race industry and when it turned out a race date had already been set for June 3rd, it was kismet for the date of the Orange County Triathlon 2018 falls on his father Richard’s birthday.

In December 2016, Brandon’s seemingly healthy dad Richard was rushed to the hospital with what initially seemed like symptoms of an ear infection but turned out to be a T.I.A (a minor stroke). Once in the emergency room he mentioned that he was short of breath, which resulted in a full body scan. The doctors found blood clots which led them to a diagnosis nobody expected, Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer.  

Because of his partnerships in the running industry through Gemini Timing, Brandon had done races with the Hirshberg Foundation, founded by Agi Hirshberg in honor of her late husband Ronald S. Hirshberg, who passed away from Pancreatic Cancer and he reached out for help. He and his family were overwhelmed by their generosity. Brandon would receive weekly, sometimes daily calls to check on not only Brandon and his father but the entire family and offer their support. Agi and her team at the Hirshberg Foundation helped Brandon’s family through the uncertainty of this horrible disease.

Unfortunately, in April 2017 Richard Walters passed away. Agi and The Hirshberg Foundation have continued to be a support system to this day.   When Brandon took on the Orange County Triathlon he saw this as the perfect opportunity to give back to the people who had helped his family so much as well as raise awareness and funds for research in the hopes that one day Pancreatic Cancer can be eradicated.

This is your opportunity as well to combat this awful disease. Very little is known about pancreatic cancer and it is often called a silent killer. There are not “routine screens” or tests, and very few symptoms that make Pancreatic Cancer the obvious diagnosis. Help us to end Pancreatic Cancer by donating today.

Thank you.