Long Island man who survived pancreatic cancer raises funds for PurpleStride walk
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Howard and Cathy Stein have been together for 53 years.
They met at 18 when Howard was a baseball player at the University of Rochester.
"I wasn't really into sports and I never knew what to yell when pitching so it just came to mind, you can do it, Howie. I don't know," Cathy said.
After 48 years of marriage, three kids, and grandchildren their lives were nearly shattered after Howie, a 71-year-old lawyer, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
"It hit me hard," he said.
Howie found out on June 15 of last year that he was between stages 2 and 3.
The father and grandfather was diagnosed early after he noticed he was abruptly losing weight.
His cancer was treatable.
Howie endured 12 rounds of chemotherapy.
"The first five or six I was able to tolerate. The last six were brutal," Howie said. "I was so weak. I couldn't eat." 13:05:12
He also underwent an 8-hour-long surgery on December 6 to remove the cancer.
"They removed the gallbladder, part of the pancreas, part of the bile duct, and part of the stomach," he said. "I've had my insides taken out and I'm able to walk."
Howie has been off chemotherapy for nearly eight weeks.
"I walked a mile yesterday. I walked a mile the day before, two weeks ago, I could barely walk 10 steps," he said.
Howie is not alone. Nearly 65,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year.
It is the third leading cause of cancer-related death.
Howie's daughter, Nicole, led a team to raise money for pancreatic cancer research.
"We raised just about $140,000," Howie said.
It was the second-highest amount raised by any team with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
The funds helped researchers like Weill Cornell Dr. Manuel Hildago Medina, who has been studying for three decades to find earlier detection and a cure.
"There has been progress. There has been progress in multiple areas," Dr. Hidalgo Medina said.
Déjà vu that Cathy could have never expected.
"And I really never realized what it would mean, but you can do it Howie," she said, just like he did back when he played baseball.
"We're going to do it. We're doing it and I'm cancer free and I'm going to stay cancer free," he said.
Howie will participate in his first walk with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network this Saturday.
He'll be joined by thousands in Manhattan and across the nation, raising money to research for a cure.
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