Chicago Mission Committee member and survivor Jim Aggelopoulos spoke with Community Engagement Senior Specialist Paula Mukherjee about his passion for spreading awareness about pancreatic cancer and connecting with other survivors. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Paula: How did you initially get connected with PanCAN?

Jim: I was diagnosed in November 2022 with pancreatic cancer. After the third or fourth treatment, I asked a nurse, “What's a good organization that I can join?” She said PanCAN.

I started researching and I agreed with her; I liked what I was reading.

I started sending emails to the Chicago Affiliate and I ended up touching base with staff partner Joan DeFilippo. I asked if there were any openings for new volunteers and I decided to join the Mission Committee last year. It’s been great.

Paula: What made you interested in the Mission Committee specifically?

Jim: My biggest goals are spreading awareness about pancreatic cancer and talking to other survivors. The rest of the Mission Committee have lost family members to pancreatic cancer. I’m the only survivor, so I have a different point of view.

I got lucky; I have friends who are in the medical field, so I had guidance from the beginning of my diagnosis. But there are a lot of patients out there who don't even know that PanCAN exists.

I want to talk to survivors and share my positive attitude and help keep them going.

Paula: How has your experience collaborating with other members of the Chicago Affiliate been so far?

Jim: It’s overwhelming to see the dedication that they have. When we have our affiliate meetings, we talk about all the events that are coming up. I see how they come up with all these ideas – “we’ve got to do this, and we’ve got to do that” – and it keeps me going.

We go nonstop, all year long. We’re always on the phone. Everybody pitches in.

We recently had a table at the annual Cancer Survivors Day at Rush University to promote PanCAN and increase awareness of pancreatic cancer. We participated in Cancer Night at a Joliet Slammers game. There are a lot of things that everyone in the affiliate does. Everybody wants to help.

People don't realize what goes behind the scenes to get all these activities ready and help pancreatic cancer patients. That’s why I decided to have fundraisers to raise money for my PanCAN PurpleStride team.

Paula: How did you get started hosting fundraisers?

Jim: It started in 2023 when I went to my first PurpleStride. There were about 15 of us – family and friends. I raised about $1500. At the walk, there was an announcement about the top three teams that had raised the most money. I was listening and said, “I can come pretty close to these amounts next year.” Everybody said, “Oh, I don't know, it's a lot of work,” but I insisted that I could do it.

Fast forward to PurpleStride 2024: I hosted two community fundraising events for my PurpleStride team, and we raised over $29,000.

For PurpleStride 2025, I've added two more community events, for a total of four team fundraisers. I want to surpass $29,000 and have a bigger and better year.

Paula: What kind of fundraising events do you do?

Jim: We have a bingo night coming up. I'm also doing a painting party. We're doing a trivia event in November for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. Throughout the year we do small fundraisers, like Super Bowl Squares and t-shirt sales.

April is our biggest event, our signature event. This is an all-day event with live music, silent auctions, prize baskets, and more. Last year we had over 350 people.

I am the General Manager at a sports bar, Draft Picks, in Naperville, Illinois, where I host all our fundraising events. I'm fortunate to have this platform and loyal and supportive customers.

Paula: How do you advertise your events?

I have a PurpleStride team, Keep Punchin. We have a website and team Facebook page. I advertise through the website and social media, including Draft Pick’s Facebook page as well.

I also advertise at Rush University where I receive treatment.

Paula: It sounds like you have a great support system.

Jim: My top supports are my family and my friends. My friends are part of my family, too, because we’ve been friends for over 50 years, since grammar school. They all work together and will switch their schedules to take me to treatments or help prepare for my events.

Support can be something small like a text from somebody you haven’t heard from in a while just asking, “Hey, how are you doing today?”

A former employee of mine moved to Tennessee and texted me out of the blue to ask, “Jim, how are you feeling?” That can be all that’s needed to lift me up that day. It means a lot.

Then you’ve got our own little personal inspirations. I have a few songs that pick me up. If I’m down, I’ll play them. You need to find your own personal inspiration, like I found with the character Rocky Balboa when I created my Keep Punchin team.

Paula: What message would you like to share with survivors and their families and friends about volunteering for PanCAN?

Jim: When I first got diagnosed, the first five or six weeks were rough. After that, I thought, “That's it. We're going to hit this head on.” That's when I started helping with PanCAN.

I tell all the survivors I meet to get involved and push like I do. I don’t look at the numbers, the survival rates. Keep going and try to raise money and do as much as we can for pancreatic cancer awareness.

Stay positive. Let the doctors take care of you, and you take care of your body. I know it's hard. I'm not saying every day is great, but most are.

Paula: Thank you, Jim, for everything that you're doing for PanCAN.

Please feel free to contact Jim Aggelopoulos (keeppunchin@outlook.com) or Paula Mukherjee (pmukherjee@pancan.org) with any questions.

Team Keep Punchin at PanCAN PurpleStride