The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Presents
Cookin’ Up a Cure: A Gourmet Chefs Tasting
Benefiting Pancreatic Cancer

Honoring Don Hewitt Creator and Executive Producer of “60 Minutes”

New York, NY – On Monday, May 24 at 6:30pm the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network will hold its third annual Cookin’ Up A Cure fundraiser in the Allen Room at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The festive evening will include cocktails and a gourmet chefs tasting from renowned New York City restaurants such as Aureole, David Burke’s Townhouse and Daniel Boulud’s Bar Boulud.  The benefit will feature a silent and live auction with opportunities to win items such as a private plane ride to the Hampton’s for lunch, a weekend at Canyon Ranch Spa in Miami, a private tour of the Tommy Hilfiger offices and an opportunity for four people to attend a closed set taping of the hit show “Mad Money with Jim Cramer” which airs on MSNBC.

The evening will also feature a tribute to Don Hewitt, broadcast pioneer and creator of CBS’s “60 Minutes”; Hewitt died of pancreatic cancer in August 2009. “60 Minutes” correspondent Morley Safer will speak and Hewitt’s wife, Marilyn Berger, will be in attendance to accept the honor.

Tickets for Cookin’ Up A Cure can be purchased for $125 at www.pancan.org/cookinupacure. Tickets will not be sold at the door.  95 percent of the funds raised at the event are dedicated to advancing research, supporting patients and creating hope for those affected by pancreatic cancer.

Since 1975 the survival rate for Pancreatic Cancer has only improved 2%--from 3% to 5%; a staggering 66% of patients die within the first year of diagnosis and 95% die within 5 years of diagnosis. Despite these sobering statistics, less than 2 percent of the National Cancer Institute’s federal research funding is currently allocated to pancreatic cancer. 

About the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is the only national organization creating hope in a comprehensive way through research, patient support, community outreach and advocacy for a cure. The organization raises money for direct private funding of research—and advocates for more aggressive federal research funding of medical breakthroughs in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network fills the void of information and options by giving patients and caregivers reliable, personalized information they need to make informed decisions. We create a sense of hope and community so no one has to face pancreatic cancer alone. The organization helps support individuals and communities all across the country to work together to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for pancreatic cancer.