Star Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes is teaming up with some other franchise luminaries to continue the fight against pancreatic cancer. Frakes, along with Armin Shimerman, who played Quark for seven seasons on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Shimernan's wife Kitty Swink, who guest starred on DS9, are coming together to raise funds and awareness for pancreatic cancer research. Star Trek: Enterprise star John Billingsley is also ing the effort, dubbed Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer.

Fans can donate and for associated events at PanCAN PurpleStride's website here. PurpleStride 2023 will take place in Los Angeles and 59 other communities around the United States on April 29th. Frakes has appealed to the generosity, empathy, and progressive thinking of Star Trek fans in his crusade against pancreatic cancer. This is the third time Frakes, Shimerman, and Swink's Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer will walk at PanCAN PurpleStride.

How Pancreatic Cancer Has Affected The Star Trek Family

The fight against pancreatic cancer is personal for Frakes and his friends. Frakes lost his brother, Daniel, to the disease over two decades ago. Kitty Swink is currently a 19-year survivor. John Billingsley, who played Dr. Phlox on Star Trek: Enterprise, is a newcomer to Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer, having recently lost his mother to the disease.

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease. The survival rates have been very low historically, but in recent years it has ticked up a bit, now standing at 12% - 3 times what it was when Frakes lost his brother Daniel in the 1990s. Much of that progress can be credited to advances in medical research that have been facilitated by charitable organizations like PanCAN. The survival rate for pancreatic cancer has increased two years in a row; PurpleStride 2023 could be key to making that three years in a row.

Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer's goal is to raise $90,000. This is clearly a personal fight for Frakes, Shimerman, Swink, and Billingsley. It's a noble endeavor, and Star Trek fans should do all they can to their efforts, be it financially or in some other way. Visit the PanCAN PurpleStride 2023 website to find out how you can help bring a little bit of Star Trek hope and optimism to Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer, a very important real-world fight.

Source: Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer