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Stricken With Pancreatic Cancer While On A Mission To Myanmar
Julia Brabant, Updated April 2025From Myanmar to Milwaukee, and Now, Alaska: 6-Year Pancreatic Cancer Survivor Dan Winkelman Riding 3,800 Miles to Raise Awareness, Funding for Pancreatic Cancer
Dan Winkelman’s faith brought him to some of the furthest regions of the globe, and it will soon take the now-six-year pancreatic cancer survivor even farther when he embarks on an ambitious, 3,800-mile motorcycle ride to Alaska he hopes will place the disease he beat in the spotlight – and rally support for those still in the fight.
Dan, a former pastor from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, moved to Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) to serve as a missionary with his wife, Sandy, in 2015, and was riding a motorcycle along the Burma Road when his front wheel struck a pothole. Thinking he may have tweaked his back in the incident, Dan sought medical care in Yangon, Myanmar, and Bangkok, Thailand, with doctors in both locations suspecting he suffered a muscle strain. When the pain persisted, though, Dan underwent a CT scan, with the scan revealing a tumor on his pancreas. A biopsy soon determined that the tumor was pancreatic cancer.
My wife and I were devastated – we were completely alone and a world away. Here I was, at the peak of my success with the mission, and I get a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
“My wife and I were devastated – we were completely alone and a world away,” Dan said. “Here I was, at the peak of my success with the mission, and I get a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.”
Soon after his diagnosis, Dan returned home to Wisconsin. His son, who had a background in nutraceuticals and preventive medicine, helped Dan get in touch with one of the nation’s leading pancreatic cancer specialists, Dr. Doug Evans at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin. While Dr. Evans had yet to receive Dan’s medical records from overseas, he agreed to see Dan anyway, setting the meeting within a matter of days.
Additional scans revealed that Dan’s cancer had reached Stage 3 and that his tumor had wrapped around arteries and nerves. He began having chemotherapy using FOLFIRINOX, but when that proved ineffective, he started treating the cancer with Gemcitabine instead. The results were dramatic and Dan’s cancer markers dropped rapidly, helping Dr. Evans and his team refine how they target specific cancer cells in patients moving forward.
He’s a hero, not just him, but his entire staff. They’re not just people with superb skill – but people with empathy.
After several successful months of chemotherapy, Dr. Evans recommended Dan undergo radiation, asking if he’d like to try to take part in a clinical trial involving high-dose, short-term radiation. By March of 2019, Dan’s tumor had shrunk enough to become operable. Dr. Evans performed a complex Appleby procedure, which involved removing part of Dan’s pancreas and some of the veins in Dan’s legs.
Recovery was long and difficult, but the procedure ultimately proved successful.
“He’s a hero,” Dan said of Dr. Evans. “Not just him, but his entire staff. They’re not just people with superb skill – but people with empathy. He told me, ‘Dan – you’re going to make it. You’ve got the big guy on your side.’”
It turned out Dr. Evans was right, and now, six years later, Dan remains cancer-free. While he takes a blood thinner and pancreatic enzymes, he remained free from diabetes for a long time after surgery – something many patients experience in the aftermath. Today, he manages Type 2 diabetes with Metformin and a small dose of insulin. Dan also believes that, above all else, faith played a critical role in his recovery, giving glory to God for orchestrating the events that led to the discovery of his cancer, connecting him with the right doctors and treatments, and, ultimately, helping him beat such a devastating disease.
Dan has also found time to spend on the things he enjoys, like gardening and spending time with his children and grandchildren. He also credits his children with going above and beyond in terms of researching doctors and treatment options for when he returned to the United States, and notes that Ortho Molecular Products, the nutraceutical company where his son Andy works, played an instrumental role in helping him build back strength and stamina after his surgery and treatment.
A Survivor on a Mission
Now, six years after Dan’s scans showed any signs of cancer, he continues to live an active, healthy life. He retired from missionary work in 2024, but he still does chaplaincy at a company near his Stevens Point home.
Dan also makes a point to exercise and work with a trainer at his gym, 212 Fitness, to benefit his health, strengthen his core and help him prepare for his next challenge: an ambitious fundraising motorcycle ride from Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin, where Dr. Evans performed his surgery, to Anchorage, Alaska, a city he once called home. The ride, dubbed “Hope on the Road,” will span some of the most stunningly beautiful parts of North America and raise funds for pancreatic cancer research, supporting efforts to improve outcomes and extend lives for other people facing the disease.
If the effort sounds arduous, that’s intentional – Dan’s goal is to mirror the long, unpredictable and often-grueling journey that many people with pancreatic cancer face on a daily basis. The ride also holds deeper meaning for Dan, as it was hitting that pothole on his motorcycle that ultimately led to the discovery of his pancreatic cancer in the first place.
“I think about what people are facing – the journey, the treatment; it’s daunting,” he said. “You see the destination you want to get to, but yet, it’s still so far away, and you don’t know what lies ahead.”
I think about what people are facing – the journey, the treatment; it’s daunting. You see the destination you want to get to, but yet, it’s still so far away, and you don’t know what lies ahead.
Dan and his team, which includes his son, Andy, and Iowa-based YouTuber “Fuzzy Biker,” among others, plan to set off on the journey this summer, with Dan and Andy, who will follow behind Dan in a vehicle with a camping trailer, departing from Milwaukee on or around June 20, 2025. The entire journey will cover about 3,800 miles, and supporters can track their mileage via GPS and their progress via frequent vlog posts. Dan and his team plan to camp along the way, and they’ll also spend the night at hotels now and then to shower and get a good night’s sleep before getting back on the bike.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” Dan said of the effort, mimicking the words his own doctor, Dr. Evans, told him at the time of his pancreatic cancer diagnosis – words that continue to guide his mindset, both in regards to recovery and his upcoming motorcycle adventure.
While Dan hopes to raise critical funds for pancreatic cancer research, he also has additional reasons to ride. He plans to publicize statistics and facts about pancreatic cancer during “Daily Awareness Drops” along the way, drawing attention to a disease many know little, if anything, about until it affects someone they know. He also hopes to highlight the fact that, contrary to popular belief, a pancreatic cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. Real progress and strides are taking place every day, and Dan, himself, is living proof.
Everyone dreams of doing the Alaska – Canada Highway. We’re going to dream big, and we’re going to go big, because this is a big deal. Pancreatic cancer is a big deal, and we want to bring awareness to as many people as possible. The odds might be against me, but they were with pancreatic cancer, too.
Dan also wants to inspire and encourage other people living with pancreatic cancer, demonstrating that, even in the face of a daunting diagnosis, it’s still possible to take on difficult, meaningful challenges – and see them through from conception to completion.
In addition to shining a spotlight on the difficulties faced by those with pancreatic cancer, Dan hopes his journey will highlight the tremendous work and research taking place at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin and raise awareness about the Seena Magowitz Foundation and the resources and opportunities it offers those living with pancreatic cancer. He also hopes to highlight the role Ortho Molecular Products played in his recovery, believing that acknowledging all the factors that contributed to his progress, both medical and otherwise, can help others navigate their own recovery efforts.
“Alaska is the motorcycle marathon for bike riders,” Dan said, of the upcoming effort, which he’ll tackle while riding his Honda Africa Twin – a bike he’s renamed “Alaska Twin” in honor of the ride.
“Everyone dreams of doing the Alaska – Canada Highway. We’re going to dream big, and we’re going to go big, because this is a big deal. Pancreatic cancer is a big deal, and we want to bring awareness to as many people as possible. The odds might be against me, but they were with pancreatic cancer, too.”
Follow along with Dan’s “Hope on the Road” fundraising ride.
Dan Winkelman has shown no signs of active cancer since March 2019.
