After finding out about her mom’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis, Haley Kwoun took on a new challenge while attending the University of Virginia: taking care of her mom.
Haley Kwoun became her mom’s at-home caregiver after her diagnosis with stage two pancreatic cancer almost four years ago, while continuing her studies at school online for the remainder of her semester.
This new caregiver experience was certainly a challenge; however, it further developed Haley’s relationship with her mom. Haley helped her mom take on chemotherapy, radiation, and the Whipple surgery.
“I wouldn’t say it was traumatizing,” she says, “because it was something that brought us closer together, and I’m so glad that I could be there for her.”
Haley’s next big challenge is running in the 2026 Marine Corps Marathon. She hopes to inspire other patients and families who have been affected by pancreatic cancer to stay happy and hopeful, as well as honor her mom, a survivor.
The Symptoms and Diagnosis
Haley’s mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer almost four years ago, experiencing symptoms like back and abdominal pain.
“She was diagnosed in 2022 at the end of October, beginning of November,” Haley told us, “and that was, of course, quite a shock because both of my parents are in medicine.”
During her journey towards a diagnosis, she encountered symptoms similar to those of pancreatitis and diabetes, like spikes in blood sugar, as well as GI issues.
“She was diagnosed with stage two inoperable pancreatic cancer,” Haley says. “She was going through the chemo and the radiation first to see if they could get it to a stage where they would be able to operate on it, and thankfully, she responded really well to the chemo.”
After sixteen weeks and thirty days of chemo and radiation, Haley’s mom became eligible for the Whipple surgery, essentially reconstructing her abdomen, after initially being ineligible due to metastasis.
Haley’s mom endured FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy, making her sensitive to temperature. She would spend her days lying in the sun for warmth.
“She couldn’t touch anything that was even room temperature,” Haley says, “Everything had to be warm. I had to run all the water before she washed her hands, and she couldn’t even stand on her own.”
Haley’s parents, both working in medicine, made her mom’s treatment process easier. She received treatment at the hospital where she previously worked and had former colleagues on her care team.
“All the nurses and techs would come out and tell me that she was the most adorable patient they had ever seen,” Haley said.
She was proud to share more about her mom’s mental strength throughout treatment. “She had a really great perspective through it all…she had a really good attitude about it, and she had almost no ounce of self-pity. Every day was just like, ‘I’m going to get up, and I’m going to face the treatment and the day and whatever’s ahead of me today.’”
From Full-time College Student to At-Home Caregiver
Haley’s parents brought her home from school to break the news about her mom’s diagnosis. “It was difficult for me,” Haley shares, “I mean, of course it was difficult for her; nothing can compare to that. On the caregiver side, it was difficult because I had never really been a homemaker before.”
Now more than ever, Haley advocates for people to get themselves or their loved ones checked out when they are experiencing pain or discomfort since her mom’s diagnosis was such a shock. “It’s really difficult, I guess, to see your parent like that,” she describes, “Especially when they’ve been very lively and really full of joy all your life.”
When COVID hit in 2020, during Haley’s first year of college, she was able to front-load many of her classes, allowing her to graduate on time while also taking a semester off. This became helpful when Haley’s mom was diagnosed in 2022, as she was able to pull out of school and finish the rest of her semester at home.
After Haley’s mom finished treatments and underwent the Whipple surgery, Haley left home for the first time in a while to attend graduate law school. Something her mom had really encouraged her to do.
Now being back at school, Haley is experiencing another big adjustment: “We had a little bit of separation anxiety, maybe, but it’s our first time being away from each other, at least in different states,” She smiles. “The hardest part of the aftermath of her diagnosis, for me, was when she was coming out a couple of months after her surgery. I had to go back to school to start my senior year of college.”
After spending so much time taking care of her mom and being so close by, this was a huge adjustment for her: “Just knowing that she was still recovering and that I wasn’t going to be there to help her… that was probably the hardest part of separation: seeing her go through her own recovery process on her own.”
Taking on A New Challenge with the Help of Project Purple
Now back at school and almost four years after her mom’s diagnosis, Haley has decided to run with Project Purple in the 2026 Marine Corps Marathon.
“I heard about Project Purple a long time ago when some of my friends in college were running for the Project Purple team,” she said. “I was always looking for an opportunity to run; it just kind of worked out perfectly. I had figured I’ll never be less busy than in law school, so now’s the time, and I’m not getting any younger.”
Haley’s only experience with running is when she joined her dad for a small charity 5k. Although running is a new sport for her, Haley has an athletic past of rowing throughout college and curling in her childhood. Participating in these sports has shown Haley that she is ready to take on the difficult challenge of running a marathon.
“It was pretty much endless stress,” she said in reference to her rowing experience. “As much as I loved it, it was really difficult, so yeah, I always called back to the mental strength that came from that.”
Participating in a marathon seemed like the perfect way for Haley to honor her mom in an impactful way, “It’s been such a long journey with my mom…getting to do something to honor her, I think is so special and it’s not just going to law school in her honor, but actually getting to do something so concrete and such an unexpected twist in my life story in so many ways.”
Haley is looking forward to reconnecting with her family when they come to watch her run after being away at school. “I’m also really excited to meet the other Project Purple marathon teams to see the rest of the team, all the people that are running for a similar cause.”
Seeing Project Purple’s pictures of all kinds of participants running is what encourages her to run, knowing that it is going to be a challenge. “I always figured that no matter how difficult something is,” she says, “it can’t really compare to what my mom has been through, and so, I get a lot of strength from that”.
To support Haley’s run to honor her mom’s fight and to help raise awareness for pancreatic cancer, donate to her fundraising page here.
If you’d like to run or participate in an event of your own for Project Purple, visit our events page.
