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In late September of 2024, Rod Poeschl suffered a near-fatal aortic dissection. After coding on the way to the hospital, doctors performed a lifesaving emergency surgery. He had been given a second chance. However, it was during that surgery that doctors noticed something concerning with his pancreas. None of us were prepared for the diagnosis that was to come.

After days in the ICU, weeks of rehab, and months of tests followed by a biopsy, it was confirmed in January of 2025: Stage 1 pancreatic cancer.

The doctor was fairly confident that during the excisional biopsy, he had removed the entire tumor. But Stage 1 quickly changed to Stage 4 after it was discovered that the cancer had metastasized to Rod’s liver.

An aggressive chemotherapy regimen began in February, and Rod seemed to be tolerating treatment fairly well. He was able to live a relatively ‘new’ normal life for the next few months, enjoying time with family and friends, but the severity of his diagnosis still loomed.

Eventually, the cancer became unresponsive to treatment, and changes were made to his regimen. It all began taking its toll, and the cancer continued to spread throughout his body.

By late fall of 2025, desperation had set in, and the daunting task of searching for any available clinical trial began. Unfortunately, that search was short-lived, as the beginning of the end had already started.

Rod passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on December 21, 2025, at the age of 71, just shy of a year after his official diagnosis.