Sam and Joan Raia hope their generosity can spark novel treatments for this deadly disease.
Every day, Sam Raia continues to fight the odds. As he continues to receive treatment for pancreatic cancer, Sam and his wife, Joan, have made a generous donation to the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center, hoping to help future patients by funding research for novel treatments.
When Sam attended a Hackensack Meridian Health golf outing last summer, he appeared ill and was encouraged by doctors to go in for immediate testing. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, results from a battery of tests revealed a dire diagnosis - Sam had pancreatic cancer, and doctors feared he would only survive for a few more weeks.
“You can’t process hearing something like that. Especially at that time of our life,” said Joan.
The golf outing was on June 30, just 10 days after Joan and Sam had gotten married.
A Personal History with Pancreatic Cancer
When the diagnosis came in on July 7, Sam knew the road ahead would not be an easy one. His first wife, Tina, had passed away from pancreatic cancer in September 2019 at age 71. It was not long after her diagnosis that the family gave its first pledge for pancreatic cancer research in 2016.
Sam, who currently serves as chair of the board for the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation, has made several generous gifts over the years, including donations to the Heart and Vascular Hospital located within Hackensack and Tackle Kids Cancer.
“As both a caregiver and patient I have personally witnessed the superior quality of care provided by the doctors, nurses and administrative staff of the John Theurer Cancer Center," said Sam. "From the time you park your car, make your way through the lab, consult with your physician and settle into the infusion center, you are showered with care, concern and excellence."
His philanthropy towards pancreatic cancer research, according to Andrew Pecora, M.D., FACP, reflects not only Sam’s own personal journey, but also a deeper desire to help others.
“He has his own personal interest in what he’s been through with himself and his family, but his caring is way broader than that,” said Dr. Pecora. “He said, ‘I want to do something that’s going to help not just potentially me, but anyone like me, anywhere, who has to deal with what I’m dealing with.’”
Donation Fuels Research
Part of a previous donation from the Raia family has been put to use at the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) to study a new approach to pancreatic cancer treatment.
According to Dr. Pecora, researchers at the CDI are using funds from the Raia family’s donation to try and create new forms of CAR T-Cells that can be used to fight pancreatic cancer. CAR T-Cell therapy typically involves taking T-Cells from a patient, genetically modifying them to kill cancer cells and then returning them back to the patient. Researchers are looking into altering T-Cells from a separate, healthy patient, which could result in fewer complications and better patient outcomes.
“Biology’s not predictable. You never know where the next great discovery’s going to come from,” said Dr. Pecora, who added that this research “may be the breakthrough that changes the whole paradigm of the disease.”
A Light of Hope During the Darkest Hours
Sam and Joan’s generosity is a statement of hope for future patients with pancreatic cancer, as well as a “thank you” to the medical team that has been behind him since he was first treated at that golf outing.
“He was so happy to show the hospital his appreciation for how they jumped into action,” said Joan. “It was just miraculous.”
"The continuing breakthroughs that are being made in cancer research and treatment are astonishing,” said Sam. “The John Theurer Cancer Center has and will save many lives. Keeping this initiative going by financially committing helps to provide hope to all who come through the doors."
Sam’s treatments have been rigorous, but Joan has credited several Hackensack Meridian Health team members for doing everything possible to ease her mind. Joan has praised Lisa Tank, M.D., MBA, FACP, the medical center’s president and chief hospital executive, for stepping into action when Sam first appeared ill, Martin Gutierrez, M.D., director of the Drug Discovery Phase 1 Unit and co-chief of Thoracic Oncology at John Theurer Cancer Center, for putting Sam on a personalized treatment regimen and even the security and parking crews at John Theurer for being courteous and respectful.
“He’s so grateful to the organization for the way they treated him, acknowledged him and took care of both of us,” said Joan. “I was a wreck, and my entire world had stopped and turned. The team at the hospital, the fundraising team, everyone just wrapped their arms around us. We felt wrapped in this cocoon of care, and still do.”
To learn more about how you can help the John Theurer Cancer Center, visit GiveHMH.org/JTCC.
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