Stonehill Professor passes away from pancreatic cancer after long battle

By Julianne Earle

When Jacob “Jack” Jackson was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October 2012, doctors expected him to live three to six months, but new medical technology extended his life by three years.

Jackson was diagnosed with a cancerous mass in the head of his pancreas that had spread more than doctors expected, and he was given three to six months to live.

Pancreatic cancer is estimated to affect almost 50,000 people and will account for just over 40,500 deaths in this year alone, according to the American Cancer Society. The one year survival rate is 28 percent, and the five year survival is 7 percent for all stages of the disease combined.

However, new technologies have developed to extend the lives of patients diagnosed with terminal cancers, and Jackson was one of the lucky few to undergo a CyberKnife surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachussetts, specifically crafted to target inoperable tumors.

CyberKnife targets high doses of radiation to the hard-to-reach tumors, allowing for effective and painless treatment that can give patients the extra time they need.

This treatment, along with chemotherapy and radiation, is the reason why Jackson was able to live much longer than originally expected.  Students at Stonehill College remember him for his passion for life and infectious positive attitude.

Professor Jacob "Jack" Jackson with his wife at the Boston Philharmonic Gala.
(Photo Courtesy of Jack Jackson's Facebook)

Erika Isner, a junior Communications and Psychology double major at Stonehill College, said he had a positive attitude, which she saw every day in class with him.

“He was never in a bad mood and wouldn’t allow for a student to be in a bad mood either,” Isner said.

Upon learning of his death on November 7, 2015, Isner was heartbroken, and shared a post on Facebook about how much she admired and looked up to him.

“I cannot thank you enough [Professor Jackson], I wish I had gotten the chance to do it in person. Rest easy,” she wrote.

Matthew Farrenkopf, senior at Stonehill College, took a public speaking class with Jackson, and said it was his favorite class at the college so far.

“He was always brought amazing energy. You never would have known he was sick,” Farrenkopf said.

The Communications major said that Jackson was aware how rare it was for him to live after his diagnosis because the disease was so aggressive.

“I’ll never forget the day he came into class and wrote a small decimal of a number and began to explain that he was one of the few people in the world who had lived two years with his type of cancer,” Farrenkopf said.

Even though exocrine pancreatic cancer still claims the lives of so many people every year, the 5-year observed survival rate has increased since 1992.

Lucia Earle, native of Fall River, remembers losing her mom to pancreatic cancer when she was 32.  Now 60 years old, Earle said treatment has come a long way since 1988, when her mother was diagnosed.

“They went in for surgery because they thought she had kidney stones, but when they opened her up, they saw she was covered in cancer. They didn’t tell us a stage or anything, just how much time she had to live – which was three months at most,” Earle said.

Melo died of pancreatic cancer four months after the surgery, just two weeks after her 67^th birthday.

Amanda Archibeque, a cancer information specialist at the American Cancer Society, said the 5-year survival rate depends on the stage of diagnosis, but that surgery is typically able to give people a better chance at survival.

“Treatment has changed throughout the years and has gotten so much better.  Even the 5 year survival rate for people not able to get surgery improved by 16 percent,” Archibeque said.

According to the American Cancer Society:

• ·   Between 1992 and 1998, the survival rates for different stages ranged from 1 percent (Stage V) to 14 percent (Stage 1).
• ·       Between 1985 and 2004, the survival rate for Stage I was 61 percent and was 16% for Stage V.

Adrianna Rosadio, a senior Communications and Criminology double major at Stonehill College, said she learned more from Jackson than just public speaking.

“He appreciated life and everything it had to offer, and he inspired his students to do the same. I’ll miss the way he cared for his students,” Rosadio said.