Sky Foundation was established by Sheila Sky Kasselman in 2008 while she was recovering from surgery for cancer of the pancreas. One of her doctors suggested she create a foundation dedicated to raising awareness and funding medical research for the early detection and treatment of the disease. “Our goal is to find an early detection method to increase survival rates and save lives.” Sheila was diagnosed with the most common form of pancreatic cancer in the fall of 2007. She completed chemotherapy, radiation and “Whipple” surgery to remove her tumor. Pancreatic cancer is predicted to be the second most deadly cancer in the United States by 2020. Yet, it is ranked eighth for receipt of federal research dollars. Sky helps fill this gap. It awards seed-money grants to scientists and clinicians in the United States, from coast-to-coast, who are pursuing research of great promise in the areas of early detection, prevention or treatment.