Hoag is one of the first hospitals in the nation to create a program targeted at finding pancreatic cancer early, when it might still be treatable. The Anita Erickson Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection Program offers people who have a family history the opportunity to receive testing and aggressive surveillance in hopes of finding cancer early enough for treatment. “Typically, pancreatic cancer is identified at a late stage, where medical intervention is very limited,” said Valentina Dalili-Shoaie, MD, medical geneticist and one of the physician leaders for the early detection program. “But if we can proactively monitor these patients at higher risk and detect cancer at an early stage, we can successfully surgically remove the tumors and increase survival rates.” By identifying high-risk patients and offering them regular imaging and ultrasounds, Dr. Dalili-Shoaie says the program hopes to empower people with a family history of pancreatic cancer to take control of their health. The program is part of Hoag’s larger commitment to encouraging early detection. Hoag offers similar surveillance and high-risk programs for breast and ovarian cancer, melanoma, skin cancer, head and neck cancers, lung cancer and prostate cancer.