As a retired financial planner and business owner, she knows a thing or two about growing money.

And as an active community volunteer, she's experienced in fund raising for the arts and crisis centers.

So when her doctor, Ann Silverman, M.D., section chief of gastroenterology at Henry Ford West Bloomfield, asked Kasselman to start a foundation to support pancreatic cancer research, her 68-year-old patient didn't think twice.

"She said we need to start raising money. I said OK. I'll start a foundation. I called people I knew would be good...and I have a wonderful board and advisory board," Kasselman said. "All of my research is being done between Karmanos and Henry Ford. We have a little more money to raise before we get started."

Since June 2008, Sky Foundation, Inc. has raised $60,000 toward the $100,000 it immediately needs - and its ultimate $500,000 goal - to fund research by Dr. Michael Tainsky, a professor of cancer genetics and pathology at Wayne State University, and his team. The project, a partnership between the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Henry Ford, aims to find a blood test for early detection of pancreatic cancer, the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.

INSIDIOUS DISEASE

The National Cancer Institute estimates that of approximately 37,000 people who were diagnosed with the disease last year, 34,000 died. It calls pancreatic cancer a silent disease because its symptoms often are vague or go undetected at first, giving the cancer time to spread before it's discovered in its late states. And because the pancreas is "hidden" behind other organs in the body, medical professionals can't feel or see tumors during routine exams.

Kasselman is all too familiar with its signs and symptoms.

The petite grandmother knew something was wrong when she inexplicably began to lose weight in June 2007. It was so nebulous. But 15 pounds (loss) on me is huge," she said. "It sent me back to the doctor." Kasselman recalls that Silverman promised to continue looking until she found a cause.

"She was amazingly available to me. She didn't say I was a hypochondriac. I had a colonoscopy. I was diabetic for a while and then it turned out I wasn't diabetic," Kasselman said. "I remember I was in Seattle and my granddaughter said, 'You look just like a banana,' and I said, you're right, I do."

Kasselman said tests - "they got a complete picture of the pancreas" - were deemed "unremarkable when taken in August. She underwent a CAT scan and an ultrasound, which confirmed a cancerous tumor on the head of the pancreas. She officially was diagnosed in October, four months after first noticing weight loss.

"I was diagnosed early. I'm so happy to be alive."

FIGHTING BACK

Because the tumor was small and the cancer was diagnosed in its earliest stages, doctors treated Kasselman with chemotherapy and radiation for six weeks before performing Whipple surgery. The operation removes a portion of the pancreas, bile duct, the gallbladder and the duodenum, and sometimes parts of the stomach and small intestine.

In January 2008, a year later, Kasselman threw a "Whipple Party" for herself, her doctors, her "alternative" professional team - an energy release healer, therapist and Pilates trainer - and friends who supported her through the illness.

"My blood is checked every six weeks. There is a cancer marker once you have the disease and that has stayed within the range of normal. And I have a CAT scan every three months," Kasselman said. "I'm considered to be thriving with the disease. I'm not considered in remission because one (cancerous) cell is all that it takes."

She said the creation of a blood test for early diagnosis is crucial to reversing the low survival statistics for pancreatic cancer patients.

The foundation not only serves as a funding source for research, but also raises awareness of the disease that has affected such notables as former Detroit Pistons coach Chuck Daly, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, actor Patrick Swayze and the late Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon professor whose "Last Lecture" has captivated millions of online viewers and was transformed into a book with the help of co-author Jeffrey Zaslow of West Bloomfield. Zaslow spoke at a foundation fund-raiser last year.

"It was an overwhelming success. We're putting together committees now to do a fund-raiser this summer. We have our first endowment and we're looking for grants," Kasselman said.

The foundation also accepts online donations. Visit www.skyfoundationinc.org or call (248) 978-9845.

Written by Sharon Dargay, Observer and Eccentric staff writer