Funding Research for Pancreatic Cancer, with Maria Fundora, Purple Pansies (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 793)
In this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, host John Ray interviews Maria Fundora, owner of Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant and Founder of Purple Pansies. Maria shares her personal story of losing her mother to pancreatic cancer and the inspiration behind starting Purple Pansies, a non-profit organization aimed at funding research and raising awareness for the disease. The conversation covers the challenges of pancreatic cancer, the importance of early detection, and the impactful work of the organization in supporting patients and their families. Additionally, Maria promotes the upcoming 15th annual Pillars of Hope Gala, the key fundraising event for Purple Pansies. The episode also highlights Maria’s restaurant, Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant, known for its fresh, farm-to-table Italian cuisine.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is recorded and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Maria Fundora and Purple Pansies
Maria Fundora is the General Manager at her family-owned and operated restaurant, Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant, in Alpharetta, GA.
Maria started Purple Pansies in 2007 after the passing of her loving mother, Iluminada Milian, to pancreatic cancer.
The pancreas is not the only organ that pancreatic cancer can affect. The liver, spleen, stomach, gallbladder, and large intestine can all be affected as well.
Key facts to know about pancreatic cancer include:
- An estimated 60,430 adults (31,950 men and 28,480 men) in the US will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
- Pancreatic cancer accounts for 3% of all cancers and 7% of all cancer deaths
- It is the third-leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the US
- Since 2000, the death rate has slowly increased each year
- The 5-year survival rate tells you what percent of people live at least five years after the cancer is found. Percent means how many out of 100. The general 5-year survival rate for people with pancreatic cancer is 10%.
Purple Pansies is a way to honor her mother, spread her lesson of compassion, and carry on in her footsteps by helping others afflicted by the disease that took her away.
Its mission is to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer. Early detection is critical to improving survival rates. Research facilities need funding to continue clinical trials.
Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all cancers but receives only 6% of research funding. We are dedicated to raising money for much-needed cancer research.
Purple Pansies has raised just under $6 million to fund research and aid families in our community.
Their next fundraising event, Pillars of Hope. is on September 15, 2024, at Astro Celebrations in Cumming. To find out more and to get tickets, click here.
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Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:00 Introduction and Welcome to North Fulton Business Radio
01:25 Introducing Maria Fundora and Purple Pansies
02:25 The Inspiration Behind Purple Pansies
03:17 Understanding Pancreatic Cancer
04:47 The Importance of Early Detection
06:28 Support and Grants for Pancreatic Cancer Patients
07:54 Survivor Stories and Medical Advances
13:17 The Whipple Procedure Explained
16:47 Purple Pansies’ Impact and Future Goals
19:56 Pillars of Hope Gala Event
24:15 Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant: Farm to Table
26:34 Closing Remarks and Thank You
Renasant Bank and Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant support North Fulton Business Radio
Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions, with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
Casa Nuova is a proud family-owned and operated restaurant, serving classic, authentic and traditional Italian cuisine and top tier hospitality since 1998.
Casa Nuova is a cook-to-order kitchen, serving traditional fare including pasta, chicken, seafood, veal, vegetarian and gluten-free options, plus daily specials. They are a farm-to-table establishment, meaning that in the summertime, they cultivate their own vegetables in their garden, steps away from the restaurant, including tomatoes, corn, peppers, zucchini, sunflowers and more!
Celebrating more than 25 years, Casa Nuova has become a true staple in the Alpharetta area, serving more than three generations of families, including friends old and new, visiting near and far from all over the metro Atlanta area and beyond.
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About North Fulton Business Radio and host John Ray
With over 790 shows and having featured over 1,200 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in our community like no one else. We are the undisputed “Voice of Business” in North Fulton!
The show welcomes a wide variety of business, non-profit, and community leaders to get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, their community, and their profession. There’s no discrimination based on company size, and there’s never any “pay to play.” North Fulton Business Radio supports and celebrates business by sharing positive business stories that traditional media ignore. Some media leans left. Some media leans right. We lean business.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is recorded and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and many others.
The studio address is 275 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.
John Ray also operates his own business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
John is the national bestselling author of The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.
