Nadine (center) with PanCAN President & CEO Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA (left) and PanCAN Chief Scientific and Medical Officer Anna Berkenblit, M.D., MMSc. (right).
Editor’s note: Affiliate Chair Nadine Aleman spoke with PanCAN’s Paula Mukherjee about her volunteer journey and steadfast commitment to improving the lives of everyone impacted by pancreatic cancer.
Paula: What is your connection to PanCAN’s mission?
Nadine’s late father, Eddie.
Nadine: My father, Eddie, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003. He was only 46. He passed away the following year.
Paula: How did your father get diagnosed?
Nadine: He was experiencing a lot of back pain, one of the symptoms of pancreatic cancer. He was also seeing a GI doctor for indigestion and other digestive issues, another warning sign for pancreatic cancer.
When his eyes became yellow from jaundice, we took him to the ER. He was subsequently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
We were told he had about nine weeks to live. We were absolutely in shock.
Paula: When did you find PanCAN?
Nadine: My story is like many others in the pancreatic cancer community.
At PanCAN Community Conversations: Miami, FL · 2025, Nadine spoke about her father’s diagnosis and shared the stage with local pancreatic cancer experts, a survivor, and PanCAN leaders.
When my father was diagnosed, my family and I were not familiar with the disease at all. We didn’t get a lot of information about pancreatic cancer or guidance on where to learn more, so we searched online and came across PanCAN.
I reached out for information and support in 2003 and have been involved with the organization since then.
Paula: How would you describe your father?
Nadine: He was a wonderful father. I’m the oldest of four siblings. He was very involved in our lives.
He was the rock of our family, and we all looked up to him.
He loved the outdoors; he was a nature geek and worked at his dream job in the Florida Everglades.
He was a funny guy and loved by everyone who knew him. We miss him immensely.
Paula: After learning about PanCAN, what inspired you to get involved as a volunteer?
Nadine: PanCAN was founded in 1999, so it was still a young organization at this time. I realized that they didn’t have anyone in the Miami metro area sharing information about pancreatic cancer or the resources available through PanCAN.
I connected with PanCAN staff members who encouraged me to start doing outreach here. My role was outreach coordinator. I still have my old business card with that title!
PanCAN sent me a box filled with fliers, pamphlets and all kinds of purple items to hand out. I remember very clearly showing the package to my father. He said, “Wow, that’s hope in a box.”
That’s always stuck with me.
Paula: There was no PanCAN affiliate in Miami at this time. What did volunteering look like?
PanCAN Miami Affiliate at a local PurpleStride fundraiser.
Nadine: With no other PanCAN volunteers in my area, this was a new path I started on my own, with PanCAN staff support. Together we searched for community events where I could set up a table and hand out informational materials.
I had two young kids at the time; my son was six and my daughter was two. It was challenging to be a solo volunteer while raising young children, but I did events for PanCAN here and there.
I remember doing an event with a local news station, NBC Six South Florida, for a few years in a row. It was a health expo, and I was there to share resources about pancreatic cancer and PanCAN. I had a table and I remember my young kids hiding underneath it while I handed out information!
I later took a step back from volunteering while I was raising my children. I still stayed connected with the organization and what is now the Miami Affiliate.
About four years ago, I decided to step back in and get more actively involved in a volunteer leadership position. I had more time because my youngest was in high school (now college) and my two oldest children had already graduated from college.
Paula: How has it been to witness the affiliate and PanCAN PurpleStride Miami grow?
Nadine’s PurpleStride team, Team Eddie Rodriguez.
Nadine: When I first started as a volunteer, I couldn’t recruit a lot of other volunteers while also doing outreach. There were other groups of volunteers who came in later and shaped the affiliate and PurpleStride into what they are now.
They’ve been very successful in recruiting new volunteers and expanding the reach of the affiliate. It’s been amazing to see and to be able to step back into an affiliate that has expanded so much.
Paula: You’re now the affiliate chair for the Miami Affiliate. What drew you to that role and what does it entail?
Nadine: I reached out to the staff partner for the Miami Affiliate a few years ago when I decided to become a more involved volunteer again. I wanted to do more, but the affiliate chair role was not really on my radar. I’m an introvert and overseeing the entire affiliate was something that scared me, but I decided to do it.
It’s been a new experience to take on this role. I focus on keeping our affiliate running smoothly, holding meetings, keeping us active in the community and recruiting new volunteers.
I’ve now been in this role for four years! I feel like I’m getting the hang of it.
We have a wonderful bunch of volunteers who have been staying strong for years — I really appreciate them. They keep me going.
Recruitment is an ongoing effort, and we are always looking for new volunteers. I’m excited to get into the community more and continue adding new volunteers to the affiliate. The more volunteers we have, the better our events will be, and the more hands we’ll have to reach out into the community.
I really appreciate anyone who can give their time to help. Your capacity to volunteer can change as your life changes, as my experience shows.
Paula: When you meet others who have been impacted by pancreatic cancer, how do you introduce them to PanCAN?
Nadine: When I meet someone new, I like to hear their story and connection to this cause. It’s important for them to know that we understand what they’ve been going through.
I also really like to share the meaningful impact that volunteering with PanCAN has had on my life. It has helped me grow. I want them to see that they can also grow from the pain they’ve experienced and help their community.
I feel like I’ve gained more from volunteering than I’ve put in.
Paula: How so?
Nadine: I think about how volunteering has benefited not just me, but my family. My whole family participates. I’ve done that with my kids since they were very little; they’ve always helped at events. I’ve been able to teach them the value of giving back.
Team Eddie Rodriguez at PanCAN PurpleStride
My mom, sisters, aunts, uncles — they all contribute, and I can see how our lives have benefited from that.
It’s a very good feeling to work together for a cause that’s so important to us.
Paula: It sounds like volunteering with PanCAN is a tribute to your father, a way to teach your kids the value of giving back, and a shared experience with your extended family.
Nadine: 100%. We’ve all gained a lot from it.
Paula: Thank you, Nadine, for everything you do for the PanCAN community!