Purple Iris Foundation spreads awareness for Pancreatic Cancer month

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

A local group is working to shine a light on the seriousness of the disease.

That light happens to be purple, the color that signifies pancreatic cancer.

Christina Parrish, founder of the Purple Iris Foundation, is a 14-year survivor.

The organization teams up with businesses around the area to illuminate their buildings with purple.

Bangor City Hall is taking part again this year, and Portland City Hall, too.

Parrish hopes the purple lights remind people to check in with themselves.

“If you look up pancreatic cancer, you would see this daunting statistics of what is it 62,000 People get diagnosed and 50,000 people do not make it and that needs to change that has changed very little in my 14 years involved with it. So it’s the little thing I can put out there so people become more knowledgeable, more aware of their bodies and if they have certain symptoms going on and they’re lingering, you know really advocate for your doctor to get checked out,” said Parrish.

Those symptoms may include jaundice, vision changes, extreme weight loss, stomach and back pain, or unusual bowel movements.

For more information or to connect with resources, visit https://www.purpleirisfoundation.com/.

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