Pancreatic Cancer

Kathleen Marie Dziwulski, a homemaker who raised nine children, died of pancreatic cancer Saturday at her Gardenville home. She was 77. Born Kathleen Marie Althoff in Baltimore and raised on Barclay Street, she was a 1947 graduate of Seton High School. She entered the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia in 1948, but never professed her vows and left the order. After raising her seven sons and two daughters, Mrs. Dziwulski, who was known as Kitty, became a clerical assistant to Dr. Ann Christopher, a Highlandtown dentist.

William T. Fields, 52, founder of the telecommunications company that evolved into industry giant MCI-WorldCom, died Saturday of pancreatic cancer in Tupelo, Miss. Mr. Fields was best known for his role in founding Long Distance Discount Service in June 1984. He was one of nine original investors in the company, which took advantage of AT&T's divestiture of its Bell companies in the early 1980s.Bradford Grow, 89, retired pioneer of naval aviation and decorated veteran of the Guadalcanal campaign, died Thursday in O'Fallon, Ill. He was a retired rear admiral.

Francis A. "Frank" Conlon, a retired credit manager and history buff, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer at his Cockeysville home. He was 63. Born in Baltimore, Mr. Conlon was raised on Beech Avenue in Wyman Park and Homeland. He was a 1964 graduate of the now-closed Baltimore Institute and earned a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1968 from the University of Baltimore. He had worked for nearly a decade as credit manager for Belair Road Supply Co. Inc. before retiring earlier this year because of failing health.

Michael A. Victor, a Finksburg carpenter whose 2 1/2 -year struggle with pancreatic cancer served as an inspiration to those similarly afflicted across the nation, died from the disease Monday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. He was 45. A Baltimore native who was raised in Owings Mills, Mr. Victor was a 1975 graduate of Pikesville High School. Until receiving a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in 2000, he had been employed as a carpenter by Property Construction Co. in Baltimore for more than 20 years.

Richard Cusack, 77, an advertising executive turned actor and screenwriter whose children included Hollywood stars John and Joan Cusack, died of pancreatic cancer Monday in Evanston, Ill. Mr. Cusack abandoned a successful 17-year advertising career in 1970 to enter the film industry. "He said, `Who cares if you brush your teeth with Colgate or Palmolive? There are bigger issues out there,'" said his wife, Nancy Cusack. He won awards for a 1971 abortion documentary, The Committee, and wrote plays.

The surgeon is hunched over an unconscious patient, his eyes focused on the deep recess of an open abdomen. It has been more than six hours since this difficult operation started at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Two anesthesiologists have traded off to give each other breaks. The nurses have changed shifts. But Dr. John Cameron has rarely looked up. He is determined to miss nothing, and at 2:31 p.m., he sees something he doesn't like. The young surgeon he is training is poised to sew a single stitch - one of hundreds in this operation - into tissue from which it could break loose.

Sandra Newbill, a retired special-education teacher and former assistant school principal in Baltimore, died of pancreatic cancer Friday at Sinai Hospital. The Northwood resident was 54. Born Sandra Denise Jackson in Baltimore and raised on East Eager Street, she was a 1970 graduate of Dunbar High School, where she was a member of the tennis, gymnastics and badminton teams. While at Dunbar, she met her future husband, Stuart Russell Newbill Sr. They married in 1976. Mrs. Newbill earned a bachelor's degree in education from what is now Coppin State University and a master's from Loyola College.

After serving as the basis for the movie Invincible, Vince Papale inspired again last night. Papale, a former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver and special teams player, was honored at the 29th annual Ed Block Courage Awards at Martin's West. Accepting a special Courage Award, Papale encouraged men over the age of 45 to get tested for cancer. "It's not that bad, guys," he said, adding that he is a survivor of colorectal cancer. "I was almost invisible, not invincible." Portrayed in the film by Mark Wahlberg, Papale tried out for the Eagles at the age of 30 in 1976 and made the team's active roster, becoming the oldest rookie in NFL history.

Donald Charles Rines, a semi-retired businessman who was an accomplished woodworker, died Sept. 5 from pancreatic cancer at his Punta Gorda, Fla., home. He was 63. Mr. Rines was born in Binghamton, N.Y., and moved with his family in 1952 to Rockville. He was a 1965 graduate of Richard Montgomery High School. After high school and while attending the University of Maryland, Mr. Rines worked for his father's Washington company, Environmental Management Consultants. In 1980, Mr. Rines established his own company, Mid-Atlantic Laboratory Furniture, a design and installation company, with his partner, Mark Guerra, in Hanover.

Naida B. Scaggs, a longtime Baltimore County elementary school educator, died June 16 of pancreatic cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. She was 65. The daughter of a chemist and a homemaker, Naida Burkholder was born in Baltimore and raised on East 32nd Street. After graduating from Eastern High School in 1963, she earned a bachelor's degree in 1967 in elementary education from what is now Towson University. She later earned a master's degree in education from what is now Loyola University of Maryland.