November 1, 2024

Dear Friends of the Patrick Comer Courage Foundation:

NOVEMBER IS PANCREATIC CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

As 2024 comes to a close, this will be our final appeal. We want to thank all of our donors who have supported the Patrick Comer Courage Foundation and have given so generously over the past 17 years. We have accomplished much in memory of our son Patrick. We have awarded over 50 grants to cancer patients and families, as well as patient care and research programs at Dana Farber, City of Hope, Cleveland Clinic, UMass Medical Foundation, and the Anderson Family Cancer Institute at Jupiter Medical Center in Jupiter, Florida. In support of our awareness mission we have supported Detec Together.

The Foundation has also funded scholarships at Saint John's High School in Shrewsbury, MA (a total of 12 to date) for students of modest means and diverse backgrounds providing a college preparatory education for boys who could not ordinarily afford such an excellent high school education. All of our scholarship recipients have gone on to college undergraduate programs.

In May of this year Saint John's dedicated a permanent memorial to Patrick with the Patrick Comer memorial business and financial resources library, affectionately known as "Comer Corner". An endowment has been established at Saint John's to ensure scholarships will be awarded annually well into the future.

None of the Foundation accomplishments would have been possible without you, our generous supporters, and we are eternally grateful to you all.

As in previous years, the Patrick Comer Courage Foundation wants to create a greater awareness about pancreatic cancer by informing our network of friends. Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths and remains the least understood of all major cancer killers. Know the risk factors and symptoms by referencing the helpful links listed on our website www.comercourage.org for more information about our mission, awareness message and grants.

In our final appeal, I hope you will continue to support the Patrick Comer Courage Foundation with a tax-deductible donation. Your gift can be made on line at www.comercourage.org, or you may send a check to Patrick Comer Courage Foundation, PO Box 30743, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33420.

Thank you again for your support and generosity.

Jim Comer, President, Patrick Comer Courage Foundation

Nichols College Magazine Fall/Winter 2023

A foundation of courage
Jim Comer ’68

When Jim Comer ’68 and his wife Cheryl created a foundation in memory of their son, they made sure “courage” was in the name. The Patrick Comer Courage Foundation honors a young man not just for the way he lived, but for how he faced his inevitable passing from pancreatic cancer.

“Patrick was so admired by his friends, family and colleagues for the way he approached life after his diagnosis that we wanted to create a legacy in his
memory,” says Comer. “He displayed such courage through it all. He did not put life on hold. He lived it to the fullest.”

By his father’s account, Patrick, who was diagnosed in 2006, remained positive as his cancer progressed over a grueling 27 months. He met every piece of bad news from his doctors with irrepressible hope for the next treatment, even after he entered hospice care. He continued to serve his clients as regional vice president for Mainstay Investments, a division of New York Life, up to three days before his passing. As his health permitted, he maintained his favorite activities like skiing, golfing, sailing, and fishing. He got a rescue dog. He planned his wedding in 2007, marrying shortly before succumbing to the disease in March 2008 at the age of 36.

Comer and his wife, both cancer survivors, were “devastated by the whole situation that we found ourselves in,” Comer recalls. But, inspired by their son’s strength and determination, they sought to bring greater meaning to Patrick’s death by keeping his spirit alive through others.

The mission of the Patrick Comer Courage Foundation is to help ease the emotional and financial burden for individuals and families facing similar struggles. Each year the foundation selects deserving candidates to support
what they need the most, whether it’s supplementing medical bills, childcare expenses, travel and lodging costs, or other household expenses incurred during treatment.

The foundation’s website (www.comercourage.org) features the stories of the patients and families they have helped since 2008. “Living with cancer often begins as an individual journey, but it doesn’t necessarily have to end that way,” Comer is fond of saying. “That’s part of what it has meant to us. To be able to give back in the memory of a great young guy, my son, is special.”

The foundation also aims to promote greater overall awareness of pancreatic cancer as well as support research initiatives. They have provided grants to organizations such as the Cleveland Clinic; City of Hope; Dana Farber;
DetecTogether, which was founded by Nichols Trustee Jim Coghlin ’67; UMass Pancreatic Cancer Alliance; and Jupiter Medical Center, an affiliate of the University of Miami located close to the Comers’ home in Florida.

Since it began, the Patrick Comer Courage Foundation has funded scholarships each year at Patrick’s alma mater Saint John’s, a Xaverian high school in Shrewsbury, Mass. The scholarships support the school’s mission to offer aid to students of modest means and diverse backgrounds. “Education is the great equalizer,” states Comer. “We can’t change the world we live in, but we can
help one boy at a time.

— Susan Veshi

James (H) and Cheryl Comer (P'90) were honored at the 2017 Saint John's High School Gala

April, 2017 - Each year, the annual Saint John's Gala celebrates the founding of Saint John's High School and pays tribute to the Xaverian Brothers, lay faculty, staff and the generations of Saint John's alumni and the parents whose dedication and sacrifice have made Saint John's the prominent school that it is today.

The 15th Annual Saint John's High School Gala brought 500 alumni, families and friends together to celebrate the people and values that make Saint John's High School unique.

Few couples embody the mission of Saint John's High School like Jim & Cheryl Comer. Their Foundation, The Patrick Comer Courage Foundation, grants two partial restricted aid scholarships each year to Saint John's students who are graduates of the Nativity School of Worcester. Through its generosity deserving students of modest means are afforded the blessing and opportunity of a Saint John's education. The Foundation was created in 2008 to honor the life and legacy of their son Patrick ('90), who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2008 at age 36.

For more information, please visit the Saint John's website stjohnshigh.org.
 

Did you know that pancreatic cancer ranks just 11th in National Cancer Institute spending despite being the 4th leading cause of cancer death? Each year, more than 37,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer; more than 33,000 die, making pancreatic cancer more deadly than prostate and close to breast cancer. The five year survival is less than 5 percent.

Know the signs... Pancreatic cancer is silent and sneaky. There are no early detection methods. Here are some of the risk factors and symptoms:

• Family history of pancreatic cancer
• Lack of appetite, sudden weight loss
• Sudden onset diabetes or a sudden change in blood sugar control in diabetes
• Change of color in urine or stool
• Indigestion, nausea, vomiting
• Abdominal/Back pain
• Chronic pancreatitis
• Jaundice
• Fatigue

"Living with cancer often begins as an individual journey, but it doesn't necessarily have to end that way." - Mr. Jim Comer

To learn more about this specific type of cancer, and to learn how you can become more involved in helping to fight it, contact the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Pancreas Program.