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Lisa Rudin

LISA RUDIN

From Personal Loss to Powerful Impact: Lisa Rudin Honors Her Mother’s Memory Through Advocacy, Support & Education

Written By Julia Brabant
October 1, 2024

“There’s so much in the world that you can’t control, but you get to choose your attitude each day.” It’s a sentiment Lisa Rudin’s mother, Dr. Vivian Pearlman, lived by, and it’s one she instilled in her three children, Lisa, Danny and Madeline. While the words have always carried weight with Lisa, it wasn’t until she lost her mother to pancreatic cancer in September 2023 that she fully grasped their significance.

Lisa learned of her mother’s condition during a 2017 Facetime call. Her mother had a distinct way of answering the phone when any of her kids reached out, and that day, she picked up in her trademark way.

“She gave me that greeting,” Lisa recalls, “and then she gave me the worst news of my life.”

Vivian had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, with her medical team finding a pancreatic mass and four additional masses on her liver during diagnostic tests. Her doctor believed she had between about four and seven months left to live, prompting Vivian to get a second opinion. The second doctor agreed with the prognosis, but Vivian, Lisa and the rest of the family refused to do the same. Instead, Vivian inquired about a clinical trial known as the “Grand Slam” spearheaded by Dr. Daniel Von Hoff at the HonorHealth Research Institute and were able to enroll her in the trial.

With the help of the trial, her oncologist, Dr. Erkut Borazanci, and the efforts of her entire care team, Vivian shattered her original doctors’ expectations. She lived almost six more years until passing in September 2023. A year prior, Vivian’s cancer had metastasized to her brain, and she underwent radiation and brain surgery to reduce and remove the tumors. However, it was the spread of cancer to her abdominal lining that ultimately claimed her life.

Losing one’s mother is a difficult load for anyone to bear, but in Lisa’s case, she was also getting ready to welcome her first child in a matter of weeks; an event that would now look quite a bit different without her mother by her side.

When Lisa’s own sister was born, she’d begged to be at the birth despite being just 5 years old herself. Vivian took Lisa to a class that explained the birthing process and gave her two age-appropriate tasks for the delivery room: feed her mother ice chips, and keep a cold compress on her forehead.

“She was amazing for letting me be there,” Lisa said. “It’s one of my first memories.”

Lisa’s own journey to motherhood was a difficult one, and she was excited at the prospect of having Vivian step into the same delivery-room role Lisa had once filled for her.

“I had trouble letting go of that idea,” Lisa said. Vivian passed away Sept. 20, 2023, and Lisa delivered her son, Ronen, Nov. 25.

In the days following her mother’s death and her son’s birth, Lisa lived in emotional upheaval. Her mother had been a clinical psychologist and was usually the first one Lisa would call when she needed advice. Adjusting to life without that guidance was a challenge, and having a newborn added another level of difficulty to the equation.

“I’m doing a lot of processing alone…I really miss that,” Lisa said. “There’s nobody who believes in you like your mother.”

Lisa was able to develop of sense of the type of grandmother Vivian was through her sister, Madeline, who had two children before Vivian’s 2023 passing. Lisa considered herself fortunate for Madeline’s experience and willingness to be open and was grateful for any glimpses she could get into what her mother was like as a grandmother.

Finding Strength Through Advocacy & Support

Anyone who has lost a parent can attest that the grief period is profoundly personal and unpredictable. In Lisa’s case, she found that it benefited her to keep busy. She’d met Seena Magowitz Foundation Founder & CEO Roger Magowitz during a trip to Arizona for a Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) fundraiser and then attended the Seena Magowitz Foundation’s annual “Power of Us” fundraiser, which took place on the same weekend.

Following their initial meeting, Lisa joined forces with Roger, lending her time and talents as a commercial, TV and film producer to the cause.

While Lisa was unable to attend last year’s edition of Power of Us due to illness, she sent a member of her team to capture the event in her place. She also helped compile video footage and patient and doctor interviews from prior events to raise awareness about ongoing advancements in pancreatic cancer research and detection.

Lisa was able to attend the 2024 edition of Power of Us in person to continue these efforts. She also helped film a package at Kathy’s House, a hospital guest house that offers affordable housing for patients and families who travel to Milwaukee for medical care.

Beyond her efforts on behalf of the Seena Magowitz Foundation, Lisa stepped into a supportive role for others facing similar circumstances, acting as a sounding board for friends and colleagues dealing with the loss of a parent or a parent’s serious diagnosis.

“I really think it’s important to find your own version of a support group, whether that’s a medical professional you can ask questions or a friend who’s gone through it,” she said. “I found that it was really helpful to talk to people who’d either lost a parent or had a parent diagnosed with a terminal illness.”

Lisa is also taking steps to manage her own health and that of her loved ones. She alerted all of her doctors about her elevated cancer risk and had her CA-19-9 numbers checked, with these levels acting as possible indicators of certain types of cancer. She and her siblings are also undergoing genetic testing to see if they have any genetic predispositions to cancer given their extensive family history of it.

Raising Awareness & Finding Support

Lisa plans to continue to help publicize the Seena Magowitz Foundation and its efforts to improve detection rates and prognoses for people with pancreatic cancer so more people become aware of their options.

“People always ask me, ‘How did your mom get on a clinical trial?’” Lisa said. “There’s a lack of knowledge about it.”

In addition to urging people with cancer to consider clinical trials, Lisa also encourages them to seek out second and even third opinions and the best possible care from professionals who specialize in treating pancreatic cancer.

“When people get the diagnosis, they often just “take it,” like, ‘That’s it,’” Lisa said. “I’m so glad my mom pushed to get Dr. B for her doctor and was with us for so long.”

Lisa also recommends that people fighting cancer consider joining a support group like Support for Survivorship, the Seena Magowitz Foundation’s virtual support group for pancreatic cancer patients and survivors.

“The support group was huge for my mom,” Lisa said. “Whether you’re on the caregiver side or the family/patient side, it can change the entire experience. That’s why I love recording and sharing these stories. It’s so important to know what other people are going through and to not feel alone.”

Lisa also plans to pass her mother’s message about maintaining a positive attitude amid challenges to her own son as he ages.

“That was something my mom really drove home for us,” she said. “Bad stuff can happen, and people can be mean – but you get to choose your emotions, and you are always in control of your response. I’ll always try to remind my son of that.”