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In Conversation: Kate Trulock, PurpleStride San Diego Team Captain
PanCAN PurpleStride San Diego Team Captain Kate Trulock spoke with Community Engagement Senior Specialist Paula Mukherjee about her connection to PanCAN’s mission and gratitude for PanCAN volunteers. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Paula: What first brought you to PanCAN?
Kate: My relationship with PanCAN began in Cincinnati. I started working for Dr. Andrew Lowy as the administrative coordinator for the Pancreatic Disease Center at the University of Cincinnati's Barrett Cancer Center in 2004. We saw both benign and malignant pancreatic disease in the clinic. Dr. Lowy operated on patients with pancreatic cancer who could have surgery.
We decided to host a pancreatic disease symposium. I did a web search and learned about PanCAN. There was no volunteer affiliate in Cincinnati at the time, so we got information from PanCAN Patient Services to share at the symposium.
Dr. Lowy got recruited to UC San Diego Health and was able to bring staff with him, including a nurse and a researcher. I came as administrative support for his oncology clinic.
When we got to San Diego in 2007, we reconnected with PanCAN and began ordering educational materials for our patients. We have a lot of Spanish speakers and it’s a great help having the Spanish-language materials. The booklets are utilized by our surgery team and our medical oncology team, and we have a patient navigator who makes sure we are well-stocked.
There’s so much for patients to absorb in a clinic visit, whether it’s surgery or medical oncology, or sometimes both doctors in one day. They can get overwhelmed with information during visits, so having a reference in hand they can go back to later is very nice.
We order the nutrition booklet for our group pancreatic cancer nutrition class that our nutritionists put on for patients with pancreatic cancer. The nutrition class was inspired by the nutrition booklet; we had patients asking if there was a related class they could attend.
Paula: I'd love to hear more about your work with Dr. Lowy and patients.
Kate: Dr. Lowy is the clinical director for Cancer Surgery at UC San Diego Health Moores Cancer Center and chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Most of the time, I’m the first person who talks to new patients. I schedule their appointments, gather their records and schedule their surgeries. I also manage Dr. Lowy’s calendar and support his entire academic and clinical practice. This July will be 18 years at UCSD for us.
At UCSD, we have built a nationally recognized program for pancreatic cancer treatment and prevention. We have a multidisciplinary, multilayered team to cover all aspects of the cancer journey.
We and other cancer centers have partnered with a nonprofit called the Canopy Cancer Collective that promotes coordinated care for pancreatic cancer patients. We have a specific algorithm that we follow when we get pancreatic cancer referrals; we make sure that they're plugged in with medical oncology, nutrition, genetics, social work, surgery and so on.
We get a lot of referrals from GI within UCSD and the Southern California region. For example, we have a strong partnership with Eisenhower Health; their GI docs and medical oncologists send all their patients with pancreatic cancer to us. We have a nurse practitioner who helps those patients navigate through the system.
We also have a Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Clinic where we offer prevention and screening services for people at potentially increased risk of pancreatic cancer. The director of Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, Dr. Diane Simeone, is a leading pancreatic cancer expert and has served as the chair of the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board at PanCAN; she sees patients in that clinic. She is also the founder of the Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection (PRECEDE) Consortium, an international consortium established to drive the early detection of pancreatic cancer.
Paula: How did you go about building the relationship between UC San Diego Health and PanCAN PurpleStride?
Kate: After moving to San Diego, I learned that there was a PanCAN volunteer affiliate here and connected with the leaders. I attended my first PurpleStride in San Diego in 2010 and have participated every year since then. I’ll have fifteen years of PurpleStride shirts soon!
In 2012, I started UC San Diego Health Cancer Services’ PurpleStride sponsorship. I have to give kudos to the affiliate volunteers who approached me and said, “Would UCSD like to be a PurpleStride sponsor?” We started at the $5,000 level and have worked our way up to a Premier Sponsorship.
We want our name to be prominent at the event, so the community knows that we're the place to come to for pancreatic cancer prevention and treatment. We’re also at the forefront of pancreatic cancer research. Our chief administrative officer, who signs off on the sponsorship, has been a great partner because he understands our standing in the community as a leader in pancreatic cancer.
We get a booth at the event, and we’ll have somebody stationed there who can answer questions from patients and family members. We've had our scientists and physicians speak at PurpleStride. Lots of our patients and their families attend.
Paula: How does it feel to see patients with pancreatic cancer and their families at PurpleStride?
Kate: It's nice to interact with patients and their families and friends outside of the office setting where they deal with the tough stuff of pancreatic cancer. It’s very inspiring!
I’m going to get emotional! It’s nice to know you’ve helped make a difference in people’s lives.
Paula: You’re the Team Captain of the UC San Diego Health Oncology team. How’s that experience?
Kate: Everybody is so enthusiastic about participating. We get residents to come. We get clinical trials staff to come. We treat every type of cancer at UCSD, so I post fliers and send messages to everyone in the cancer center to join our team.
We get participation from researchers we rarely see because we’re on different sides of the building and they run experiments all hours of the day and night. It gives them a chance to see the impact of the work they’re doing in the lab. They may not see that on a regular basis, but they see it at PurpleStride.
Paula: What message would you like to share with PanCAN volunteers in honor of Volunteer Appreciation Week?
Kate: Stay engaged and keep up the good work, because you are making a difference in people’s lives.
Please feel free to contact Kate Trulock (ktrulock@health.ucsd.edu) or Paula Mukherjee (pmukherjee@pancan.org) with any questions.
Kate (right) at PanCAN PurpleStride San Diego.
Kate picking up her PurpleStride team's 1st place fundraising award in 2020.
Paula: What first brought you to PanCAN?
Kate: My relationship with PanCAN began in Cincinnati. I started working for Dr. Andrew Lowy as the administrative coordinator for the Pancreatic Disease Center at the University of Cincinnati's Barrett Cancer Center in 2004. We saw both benign and malignant pancreatic disease in the clinic. Dr. Lowy operated on patients with pancreatic cancer who could have surgery.
We decided to host a pancreatic disease symposium. I did a web search and learned about PanCAN. There was no volunteer affiliate in Cincinnati at the time, so we got information from PanCAN Patient Services to share at the symposium.
Dr. Lowy got recruited to UC San Diego Health and was able to bring staff with him, including a nurse and a researcher. I came as administrative support for his oncology clinic.
When we got to San Diego in 2007, we reconnected with PanCAN and began ordering educational materials for our patients. We have a lot of Spanish speakers and it’s a great help having the Spanish-language materials. The booklets are utilized by our surgery team and our medical oncology team, and we have a patient navigator who makes sure we are well-stocked.
There’s so much for patients to absorb in a clinic visit, whether it’s surgery or medical oncology, or sometimes both doctors in one day. They can get overwhelmed with information during visits, so having a reference in hand they can go back to later is very nice.
We order the nutrition booklet for our group pancreatic cancer nutrition class that our nutritionists put on for patients with pancreatic cancer. The nutrition class was inspired by the nutrition booklet; we had patients asking if there was a related class they could attend.
Paula: I'd love to hear more about your work with Dr. Lowy and patients.
Kate: Dr. Lowy is the clinical director for Cancer Surgery at UC San Diego Health Moores Cancer Center and chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Most of the time, I’m the first person who talks to new patients. I schedule their appointments, gather their records and schedule their surgeries. I also manage Dr. Lowy’s calendar and support his entire academic and clinical practice. This July will be 18 years at UCSD for us.
At UCSD, we have built a nationally recognized program for pancreatic cancer treatment and prevention. We have a multidisciplinary, multilayered team to cover all aspects of the cancer journey.
We and other cancer centers have partnered with a nonprofit called the Canopy Cancer Collective that promotes coordinated care for pancreatic cancer patients. We have a specific algorithm that we follow when we get pancreatic cancer referrals; we make sure that they're plugged in with medical oncology, nutrition, genetics, social work, surgery and so on.
We get a lot of referrals from GI within UCSD and the Southern California region. For example, we have a strong partnership with Eisenhower Health; their GI docs and medical oncologists send all their patients with pancreatic cancer to us. We have a nurse practitioner who helps those patients navigate through the system.
We also have a Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Clinic where we offer prevention and screening services for people at potentially increased risk of pancreatic cancer. The director of Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, Dr. Diane Simeone, is a leading pancreatic cancer expert and has served as the chair of the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board at PanCAN; she sees patients in that clinic. She is also the founder of the Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection (PRECEDE) Consortium, an international consortium established to drive the early detection of pancreatic cancer.
Paula: How did you go about building the relationship between UC San Diego Health and PanCAN PurpleStride?
Kate: After moving to San Diego, I learned that there was a PanCAN volunteer affiliate here and connected with the leaders. I attended my first PurpleStride in San Diego in 2010 and have participated every year since then. I’ll have fifteen years of PurpleStride shirts soon!
In 2012, I started UC San Diego Health Cancer Services’ PurpleStride sponsorship. I have to give kudos to the affiliate volunteers who approached me and said, “Would UCSD like to be a PurpleStride sponsor?” We started at the $5,000 level and have worked our way up to a Premier Sponsorship.
We want our name to be prominent at the event, so the community knows that we're the place to come to for pancreatic cancer prevention and treatment. We’re also at the forefront of pancreatic cancer research. Our chief administrative officer, who signs off on the sponsorship, has been a great partner because he understands our standing in the community as a leader in pancreatic cancer.
We get a booth at the event, and we’ll have somebody stationed there who can answer questions from patients and family members. We've had our scientists and physicians speak at PurpleStride. Lots of our patients and their families attend.
Paula: How does it feel to see patients with pancreatic cancer and their families at PurpleStride?
Kate: It's nice to interact with patients and their families and friends outside of the office setting where they deal with the tough stuff of pancreatic cancer. It’s very inspiring!
I’m going to get emotional! It’s nice to know you’ve helped make a difference in people’s lives.
Paula: You’re the Team Captain of the UC San Diego Health Oncology team. How’s that experience?
Kate: Everybody is so enthusiastic about participating. We get residents to come. We get clinical trials staff to come. We treat every type of cancer at UCSD, so I post fliers and send messages to everyone in the cancer center to join our team.
We get participation from researchers we rarely see because we’re on different sides of the building and they run experiments all hours of the day and night. It gives them a chance to see the impact of the work they’re doing in the lab. They may not see that on a regular basis, but they see it at PurpleStride.
Paula: What message would you like to share with PanCAN volunteers in honor of Volunteer Appreciation Week?
Kate: Stay engaged and keep up the good work, because you are making a difference in people’s lives.
Please feel free to contact Kate Trulock (ktrulock@health.ucsd.edu) or Paula Mukherjee (pmukherjee@pancan.org) with any questions.
Kate (right) at PanCAN PurpleStride San Diego.
Kate picking up her PurpleStride team's 1st place fundraising award in 2020.
