Dallas-Fort Worth November Awareness Chair Elena Muniz speaks with Community Engagement Coordinator Paula Mukherjee about goals for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, the importance of strong relationships between volunteer leaders, and tips for managing a busy schedule. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Paula: How did you first find PanCAN?

Elena: My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April of 2019. Prior to my mom being diagnosed, I also lost my college sponsor to the disease. He was diagnosed my freshman year of college and passed away just two months before graduation, so I already knew what type of journey this was going to be.

I just wanted to try to get all the knowledge that I could. I ran across PanCAN during my research of it all. To be honest, I didn't use the resources like PanCAN Patient Services as much as I could have. I just really used the PanCAN website to gather more data and knowledge of what is going on.

When my mom passed away...I knew that PanCAN had a lot to offer. I wanted to get more involved. I had used all my time when my mom was sick to be her cheerleader and her ear and her voice. Now I have this opportunity to be that voice for others.

Paula: What drew you to November Awareness Chair in particular?

Elena: Angeli Bateman; she was our Communications Chair, but now she is our Affiliate Chair. In Dallas, our PanCAN PurpleStride was in November. My mom passed in April of 2020. November came around and I thought, “I'm going to try PurpleStride.” I went to an affiliate meeting online and there was another volunteer from an affiliate up north. We were throwing around ideas and they were going to do a Patrick Swayze movie night.

I took the idea and I ran with it my own way. I'm a drill team coach, along with being a math teacher, so I decided, “I want to do a routine to ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of Our Life.’” We did it as a halftime performance. We also did a kindness-themed pep rally that year — it was all virtual — so I had the kids do that routine.

Last year, we had to reach out to healthcare professionals for November Awareness Month. While in the hospital for my mom’s Whipple procedure, we received PanCAN’s nutrition booklet from a nurse navigator. The same nurse navigator was on the list as a PanCAN Patient Champion for the last 3 years. I was able to speak with her and thank her for being a Patient Champion and sharing that resource with us. I think it was important for her to hear that her help was beneficial and important for me to be able to tell someone who helped my family “thank you.”

I say all of that because I feel like November Awareness naturally was something that I was drawn to. Angeli knew all the things I had done with the drill team, so when the next year rolled around, she said, “I really think you should do this.” I said, “You're crazy! Can’t I just join a committee? Why am I chairing something? I'm still trying to understand all of this.” She said, “You'll be fine. I'll help you; it'll be okay.” So that was that. It was Angeli pushing me to do it and telling me she would be by my side, and she hasn't left my side. I can ask her anything, at any time.

On a side note, I really have appreciated what PanCAN has done with the training you do. With COVID, our affiliate dwindled in size; I imagine other affiliates are that way as well. We're trying to fill chair positions and we have people who are really passionate about what PanCAN has to offer, but they're concerned about being a chair. With some organizations you're worried that you're not going to be set up for success. That's what I really like about PanCAN. They give you all the tools you need and you're not starting from scratch. They're setting you up for as much success as they can.

Paula: What is your affiliate planning for November Awareness this year?

Elena: We're in the middle of setting up two different events. We're working with a company that does an annual golf charity event in November. All proceeds from the event go to PanCAN. Our affiliate will be at the event providing information about PanCAN and its services. We are also working with Methodist Dallas Medical Center. They are hosting a survivor celebration titled “Faces of Hope.” This will be an opportunity to celebrate all of our survivors and discuss current advancements.

Paula: Wow! What do you hope participants will take away from these November Awareness events?

Elena: I want everyone to see what PanCAN has to offer. Whenever I'm trying to get people to donate for PurpleStride, or I know someone who is dealing with pancreatic cancer, I always say, “Go use Patient Services.” I think that's the most amazing thing PanCAN has to offer –  free, personalized support for patients and families to help them navigate through this.

My goal is bringing more attention to the disease and showcasing what PanCAN has to offer and the growth that is occurring. The survival rate has increased since my college sponsor and my mom passed away, but there’s still so much that needs to occur. We are bringing light to this disease, in every aspect.

Paula: What keeps you motivated as a volunteer?

Elena: The ability to honor my mom and college sponsor – the two people who made me the woman I am today and fought so hard against this disease. It is my intention to continue their fight where they left off.

Paula: You mentioned working closely with your Affiliate Chair. I'd love to hear more about the relationships you have within your affiliate.  

Elena: We were meeting for November Awareness. Beverly Jackson is our Advocacy Chair, and we have Community Relationship Manager Katie Gade. The four of us (including Angeli) are just throwing ideas around about what to do with November Awareness. I was letting them talk and sitting back because I was just trying to absorb. If you put me in a group, I'm listening – just trying to sponge everything up. I was kind of quiet, and then we ended our meeting. I did some research based on our conversation and messaged Beverly and Angeli about what I had learned.

Beverly, I think, could tell that I'm a little nervous about this whole chair thing and said, “We always work together to support one another in this affiliate.” She's so right. That is kind of our motto. We work together to support one another every time, like with PurpleStride. We were working together the entire time to make that work. In June, with PanCAN Action Week, we were messaging each other, we were working out a plan all the time.

It's this family where I might be the chair of this position, but we're all going to work together no matter what. We're a team, for sure. Working with them, hearing their stories, and gaining experience from them has been nice. Sometimes you're on a team and people want to be the best so they're not sharing their resources, but not in this affiliate. “This is what you want to do? ‘Here are all the resources I have’ or ’Here's how we've done it before.’” It's about building one another up to meet goals.

I really appreciated having them. It’s not just like, “Okay, I'm just going to throw you in here. You'll figure it out.” We're going to throw you in, but we're going to give you the life vest and everything else to make it through.

Paula: Along those lines, what advice would you give to volunteers who are new to PanCAN?

Elena: Volunteer Central really has everything that you could possibly want. Dig in and don't be scared to ask and don't be scared to get your feet wet. Doing something, no matter how small, is always going to be more than doing nothing at all. Get those experiences; join those committees; find what it is that you're passionate about and what you're ready to handle.

I knew that we had a lot of chair positions available, and I thought, “I'm not emotionally ready to deal with the position of PurpleLight Chair.” I will say, I would really love to throw that in this November. We don't have a chair for that, but I would love to add a PurpleLight. When I was being presented with chair positions, I knew that I wasn't — at the time — emotionally prepared to do that, but I knew the fire in me for bringing awareness was there.

There's just so many different outlets for people. Find which one truly speaks to you because they all need someone.

Paula: Could you tell me about one of your favorite memories from volunteering with PanCAN?

Elena: I don’t know, I love it all! I will say, this year has really been the year, between PurpleStride and Action Week. Last April was my first in-person PurpleStride. Seeing all the people, all the families, all the teams, and just feeling the emotion; that was really something I hadn't witnessed before.

Then Action Week in June. A group of 30 of us from Texas got to speak with our members of Congress. Seeing – wow, all these people want to be here. Hearing different stories that people have experienced. It felt like you were being heard by these government officials.

Paula: How do you balance your responsibilities as a volunteer with everything else going on in your life?

Elena: I'm a teacher and a coach and a volunteer, and I have my friends and family. I just stay organized, try to plan everything, and try to see where I can make things mesh up. Like I said, as a coach for drill team, I thought, “I can bring more awareness through the halftime of our football games and all of these pep rallies.” Find where you could mesh this with your personal goals and your personal life.

We try to plan ahead and set up the next meeting before we leave: “When are we going to meet again?” Let's not just say “We’re going to meet when X, Y, and Z are done.” Of course, we want X, Y, and Z done, but let's put this date in as well. I set those boundaries wherever I can and plan ahead as much as I can.

Paula: Thank you for everything you do for PanCAN!

Please feel free to reach out to Elena Muniz (emuniz@pancanvolunteer.org) or Paula Mukherjee (pmukherjee@pancan.org) with any questions.

Elena Muniz (top left) with her family during Virtual PanCAN PurpleStride 2020.