CHICAGO — Four years ago, a local man was given a five percent chance of survival after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This month, he returned from climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with the doctor who saved his life.

Ken Brown believes he is alive today thanks to Dr. Malcolm Bilimoria. Beating the cancer was their first uphill battle; the second was the highest free-standing mountain in the world, Mt. Kilimanjaro. The pair say as they scaled the 20,000 ft. climb together they found joy, not only in reaching the summit, but also in journeying there together.

“I shouldn’t have been here. I just spent six days getting to know the man who saved my life, and I just also had the opportunity to see sights no one else can see at night,” Brown said. “I feel like I can reach out and touch the stars.”

November is National Pancreatic Awareness Month. Ken Brown and Dr. Malcolm Bilimoria want people to know pancreatic cancer isn’t a life sentence and there are options to not only survive, but truly live.

For more information about Northwest Community Healthcare, visit their website.