Hundreds turned out on a sunny but chilly Sunday morning in Parsippany to take part in the PurpleStrides 5K Walk/Run. The second annual event, held at the local Mack-Cali Business Campus, is a fund raiser for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Millburn Township recently passed a proclamation declaring November Pancreatic Awareness Month and supported the walk and the work of the network.

Millburn Township resident Michael Weinstein was at the walk, having survived more than years since his diagnosis and becoming the advocacy coordinator for te for the network.

Twenty-four percent of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive at least 12 months. Just 6 percent survive five years. The statistics for the nation's fourth leading cause of cancer death do not leave much room for hope to those afflicted.

When was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2005, Weinstein's situation looked bleak. "When I was diagnosed it was like a death sentence," he told Patch in 2009. "But my doctor said, 'Even if you're told you have a one in a million chance, you could still be that one.' That kept me going."