Rachna Shroff, a University of Arizona cancer researcher who spent much of her career studying pancreatic and bile duct cancers, has died at 47 after battling an aggressive form of the disease.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology announced her death, saying she passed away following her fight against cancer.
Shroff, who served as associate director of clinical investigations at the University of Arizona Cancer Center, was diagnosed with terminal adenocarcinoma earlier this year after seeking medical attention for a swollen lymph node in May.
The diagnosis came as a devastating blow to the specialist, who had dedicated her career to cancer research and published more than 80 scientific papers.
“I’ve spent my entire life trying to eradicate cancer, primarily pancreatic cancer but also liver cancers,” she previously said, describing her own diagnosis as a journey.
Despite her illness, Shroff continued to celebrate important family milestones, including joining her daughter, Simran, on college visits and attending baseball games involving her son, Sachin.
She is survived by her husband, Dr Puneet Shroff, and their two children, aged 17 and 13.
Before her death, she also launched a Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award in her name to support cancer research. The initiative raised more than $1.35 million, which will go towards efforts to find better treatments for the disease. The University of Arizona said the initiative fulfilled one of her final wishes.
Shroff had first explored cancer research in the 1990s after receiving the Osler Fellowship Award in 1993, which gave her an opportunity to gain experience in a laboratory at the University of Arizona Cancer Center.
Throughout her career and personal battle with cancer, she lived by her motto: “If you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine.”
