In Conversation: Dianitia Buck, Affiliate Chair, Nevada Affiliate

Editor's Note: Las Vegas Affiliate Chair Dianitia Buck spoke with Community Engagement Senior Specialist Paula Mukherjee about her volunteer journey and connection to PanCAN's mission.

Paula: What first brought you to PanCAN?

Dianitia: After I lost my mom to pancreatic cancer in 2011, I found PanCAN PurpleLight in Las Vegas and have attended every year since then. Now I plan and run the event, which I never could have imagined when I first started attending.

In 2022, I signed up to volunteer with the Nevada Affiliate while attending PurpleLight with my friend Cheryl, who is now the PurpleStride Chair. This is now my fourth year volunteering with PanCAN and this month is my fourth PurpleStride Las Vegas!

Paula: I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. I'd love to hear about her.

Dianitia: She was truly my best friend.

She was so funny. You could count on her to be the life of the party. She loved music and dancing. She was a really fun person. My friends all loved her and considered her to be their second mom.

She loved animals. She wanted to rescue them all. I grew up with a lot of animals, including potbelly pigs.

She was a nurturer with people too. We had friends throughout the years who were struggling and my mom invited them to live with us.

My mom's friends tell me that I'm just like her, because I want to rescue all the animals and take care of everyone.

Paula: Did you know much about pancreatic cancer before your mom's diagnosis?

Dianitia: No, not much. She was misdiagnosed at first. After she received an official diagnosis, she was gone within six months.

Paula: I love that you started volunteering with a friend. How did you first meet?

Dianitia: We used to work together. Cheryl has known me since I was 19; it's been a long friendship.

We both feel passionate about the cause. My mom was one of the first people she knew who died from pancreatic cancer.

Paula: What made you decide to volunteer with PanCAN?

Dianitia: I saw that this affiliate had the potential to grow and needed help to do so. I wanted to make it bigger and a place for everyone who has been impacted by pancreatic cancer.

Paula: What are your goals for the affiliate?

Dianitia: My long-term goal for both the affiliate and for PurpleStride Las Vegas is growth. We're still a small affiliate and I'd love to grow it more. We have recruited some new volunteers recently, so I'm really excited about that.

I want to grow PurpleStride Las Vegas as well so we can raise more funds and get more participants, maybe even enough to outgrow our venue.

Paula: PurpleStride is coming up very soon! What are you most excited about?

Dianitia: I help Cheryl with whatever she needs. In addition, I focus on entertainment and the event day experience. We have an emcee from KLAS 8 News. We have some fun entertainment planned.

For the first time, we're doing a Zumba warm-up before the walk starts. The host will be Chaz the Party Gorilla - the Fitness Mascot. He reached out to the affiliate because his mentor, the former mascot for the Utah Jazz, passed away from pancreatic cancer. Chaz wanted to contribute to the event in a big way.

We'll also have Japanese Taiko drummers at the starting line to get everybody pumped and energized. Vegas Golden Gals, an all-women senior performance pom-pom team, will be performing.
I have a colleague from my day job who is supplying breakfast for the Survivor Tent for the fourth year. He wants to feed every participant this year! We're looking forward to that.

I'm really excited about these new additions to event day.

Paula: Does your family volunteer as well?

Dianitia: PurpleStride is a family affair. My husband and I have three children. Anneke is 15 and has been volunteering on event day in the Purple Play Zone for kids with her little brother, Breydon, who is 12.

This year, Anneke told us that she wanted to do more, so she took on a role in the affiliate as the event day volunteer chair.

Breydon is taking over as lead in the Purple Play Zone this year - he's really excited about it.

Then we have Connor, who's three. Eventually we'll get the little guy involved as well!

Paula: What keeps you motivated from day to day?

Dianitia: I do it for my mom, all the people who I've met through PanCAN who are fighting this disease and those we've lost to it. They keep me motivated.

Paula: Is there a part of PanCAN's mission that you find particularly compelling?

Dianitia: I think PanCAN's support of research through grants and government advocacy is awesome. I hope to see that go further so we can get to a point where more patients with pancreatic cancer are surviving.

The free support and resources provided by PanCAN Patient Services are so valuable. It's important for patients and caregivers to know that they can talk to somebody who understands and wants to help.

Paula: In honor of Volunteer Appreciation Week (Apr. 19 - 25), what message do you want to share with others who have been impacted by pancreatic cancer?

Dianitia: It's really fulfilling to be a volunteer. It can be challenging at times because the mission hits close to home but stick it out; you'll feel pride in doing something good.

At PurpleStride, for example, you'll feel a sense of purpose when you see survivors on the stage, participants crossing the finish line and your fellow volunteers working alongside you.

If you put good into your community, it will come back to you.

Paula: Thank you for everything you do for PanCAN and the pancreatic cancer community!