A Webster City woman is coordinating two simultaneous Iowa fundraisers this month to raise money and awareness about the disease that killed her father. Jody Moats is organizing what’s being called "Purple Stride Iowa" in both Webster City and West Des Moines on September 26th.
Moats’ father died from pancreatic cancer in 2005, so she did what she called "Hike Iowa for Hope" in 2006 and 2007. She walked across Iowa both years, accompanied by her family, to raise money for research. "I decided to give my legs a break and my husband and daughter a better vacation so we decided to reduce it to a one-day walking event."
Moats says pancreatic cancer isn’t as common as breast cancer or lung cancer and thus, doesn’t get as much attention — or money. "It is one of the deadliest cancers out there and one of the least funded," Moats says. "The survival rate is not very good and what we’re trying to do with this research is to find better detection. Most people that’re diagnosed with this disease, they’re already in the later stages."
The first Purple Stride Iowa event was held last year in Webster City alone. She says they had good participation and generated nearly 12-thousand dollars in donations. Moats hopes for a much larger turnout this year by adding West Des Moines.
She says the website address is long, but easy to maneuver: www.canpan.org/purplestrideiowa09 . She says you can register online in advance for free. If you raise $25 or more, you’ll get a t-shirt at the event. You can register the day of the event for $30.
She says pancreatic cancer killed more than 37-thousand Americans in the past year.