In Loving Memory of Wen Chien

In March 2026, our mother, Wen, walked into urgent care with what seemed like a somewhat benign concern. Thirty-four days later, on April 4th, she was gone.

Pancreatic cancer does not arrive with warning. It moves quietly, undetected, until it is too late. By the time we knew, it had already spread. There were no treatments that could meaningfully extend her life. The only options that might prolong time came at too big of a cost of how she lived it. We moved fast. We even moved her across the country, seeking care from the best medical institutions in Boston. And still, we ran out of time. She joins Steve Jobs, Alex Trebek, Patrick Swayze, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg among those taken too soon by a disease that almost always strikes without warning.

Our mother lived the way most of us aspire to—joyfully, with intention, and without hesitation. She hiked for hours in the Malibu hills, danced to Coldplay, climbed trees with her grandchildren, and woke each morning with a clap and a bright, “Good morning, people!” She didn’t just live life. She animated it.

Her story is not just about loss. It is about a disease that is almost always found too late, when there is no real chance to change the outcome.

144 Americans die every day from pancreatic cancer. It’s an 80/90 disease: over 80% of cases are found after it has spread, and nearly 90% of patients don’t survive five years. Early detection is the difference between life and death – yet today, there is no routine screening. This was our reality. It doesn’t have to be yours.

Before she passed, our mother made one thing clear: even if it was too late for her, she wanted to help prevent this kind of suffering for others.

Through the Purple Ivy Movement, we are committed to advancing early detection and better treatment for pancreatic cancer, supporting leading institutions like Mass General Brigham, while also investing more broadly in the people, research, and ideas that have the potential to change outcomes at scale.

If this story resonates with you, please consider making a donation today. Your support helps accelerate early detection and gives other families the time we did not have.

Share her story. Learn the symptoms. Talk to your doctor. Act today.