Dr. Rachna Shroff, a cancer researcher who was diagnosed with her own aggressive form of the disease, has died. She was 47.
The University of Arizona, where Shroff was an associate director of clinical investigations at the U of A Cancer Center and chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Medicine at the College of Medicine – Tucson, confirmed the news on Oct. 12.
"She was internationally recognized for her work in bile duct cancer, or cholangiocarcinoma, turning her focus to the rare and historically difficult-to-treat disease when few treatment options existed and no Food and Drug Administration-approved therapies were available," the university wrote. "Today, the field has changed dramatically, due in part to the landmark
clinical trials Dr. Shroff led as a principal investigator."
Shroff was diagnosed with cancer after developing a swollen lymph node in May, Today reports. Testing showed it had likely originated in her stomach or intestine, and by the end of the month, had spread in her body. The was no cure for her condition, according to the outlet.
“It’s been a journey,” Shroff told NBC News’ Anne Thompson of her diagnosis in a Zoom interview before her death. “I’ve spent my entire life trying to eradicate cancer, primarily pancreatic cancer, but also liver cancers.”
Shroff is survived by her husband and two children, her father, mother and sister. She was a mom to teenagers, according to Today.
In September, before her death, Shroff created a permanent source of funding for the next generation of researchers called the "Conquer Cancer–Rachna Shroff, MD, MS, FASCO Young Investigator Award in Biliary Cancer."
"In the face of her own life-limiting cancer," the university wrote, this was "one of her final wishes."
Shroff’s goal was ambitious, but she did it, raising $1.35 million to permanently endow the award, which the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Conquer Cancer organization says will ensure "a new researcher is funded every year in perpetuity."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cancer researcher dies at 47 of disease she was trying to cure
