"The world has shifted and changed. Actions, jobs and events that defined us and given us structure were halted… jarring our reality of both ourselves and the world," say co-founders Jean Trebek and Alison Martin on their website, InsideWink. The two co-founders came together to write a Letter From the Editors detailing how they have reflected on the meaning of "purpose."
"We are at a time of great change and with that comes the opportunity to decide and declare what is truly valuable. It's a time where we can look at neglected and ignored areas of our life, our community, our nation and refocus our intentions. The significance of family, the responsibility we all share for each other, the strength of the human spirit, can became our purpose," they tell their readers. They speak about how actions from the individual for the individual and for the individual's community can serve to a greater purpose for all.
Read MoreA Spiritual Mentality
Jean Currivan Trebek, 55, is a Professional Religious Science Practitioner. She has been practicing sound healing for 10 years. With all that her practice instills in her, Trebek has spoken up during various issues facing our world, including her inspiring message during the coronavirus quarantine. The practice, along with an ancient healing technique called Reiki, is part of Trebek's spiritual faith, called Religious Science. When asked what she would say to someone seeking spiritual answers during difficult times, Trebek's advice is simple:"Just ask the universe," she said, in an interview with SurvivorNet, "what's the next step for me?'" she said. "The universe will always respond. I am absolutely sure that we live in a benevolent universe that is always conspiring for our highest and greatest good."
Trebek has utilized this approach and mentality when thinking about her husband’s cancer diagnosis.
Trebek’s Cancer Diagnosis
Alex Trebek, Jean Trebek’s husband, announced in March 2019 that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which is a more difficult cancer to treat as it is often diagnosed late. Trebek was diagnosed at stage 4 and responded well to his initial chemotherapy treatment. He announced in May that some of his tumors had shrunk a significant amount, and the results were "mind-boggling." Unfortunately, by September, Trebek announced a reversal of those initial positive results.
Then, on March 4th, Trebek returned with another update, announcing that he had beaten the odds and reached a rare Stage 4 pancreatic cancer milestone: He'd survived one year after his diagnosis. Only about 18% of patients achieve this milestone. "I'd be lying if I said the journey had been an easy one," Trebek added. But his oncologist says he looked forward to celebrating his second anniversary of survival, for which there is a 7% chance. "Anything is possible," Trebek noted, telling fans: "I'll keep you posted."
Advances in Pancreatic Cancer Treatment
Pancreatic treatments have evolved and one of the biggest developments in cancer research as been for pancreatic cancer treatment. A clinical trial showed, for the first time, that a class of drugs called PARP inhibitors may be effective in treating pancreatic cancer.
RELATED: Can PARP Inhibitors Work for Pancreatic Cancer too?
PARP inhibitors work by preventing cancer cells that have been damaged often during the course of chemotherapy from naturally healing themselves, and have shown significant promise in treating ovarian cancer and breast cancer. However, a study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in June revealed that one of these PARP inhibitor drugs, called olaparib (Lynparza), may work for pancreatic cancer as well.
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