Read Time: 3 Minutes
Takeaways:
- Russ was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the same age as his mother had been when she passed away from the same disease.
- He credits advances in cancer treatments, including the revolutionary new drug daraxonrasib, with giving him hope and more time with family.
Impact: Huntsman Cancer Institute is helping expand treatment possibilities for patients with pancreatic cancer through access to promising new therapies and groundbreaking clinical trials.
When Russ Smith learned he had pancreatic cancer at age 67, he couldn’t help but think about his mother.
He was the same age she had been when she received the same diagnosis more than 30 years earlier.
“She died just seven short weeks after her diagnosis,” Russ says.
So, when doctors found a tumor the size of an orange on his pancreas, he feared his timeline would be similar. Instead, decades of cancer research have given Russ access to treatment options that were previously unimaginable.
A Groundbreaking Clinical Trial
Russ' first treatment seemed to be working.
He started chemotherapy in early 2024 shortly after he was diagnosed, and he was able to continue working in commercial real estate while coaching high school football on the side. Physically, he felt good.
But even after nearly a year of chemotherapy, his scans told a different story. The cancer was still spreading, and his tumor markers continued to worsen.
That’s when his doctor connected him with Huntsman Cancer Institute to explore other treatment options.
Russ says his care team immediately gave him confidence that he was in the right place.
“Huntsman Cancer Institute has been phenomenal,” he says. “Every time we go, we comment that the quality of care is just world-class. I would not want to be anywhere else.”
Working with his oncologist at Huntsman Cancer Institute, Russ learned he was a candidate for a clinical trial studying a promising new targeted therapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Beginning in February 2025, Russ started taking daraxonrasib, a daily oral medication developed to treat cancers driven by KRAS, a genetic change found in most pancreatic tumors. For years, KRAS was considered “undruggable.” Until now.
The treatment hasn't been without challenges. Russ experiences side effects, including weakness and gastrointestinal issues, and he returns to Huntsman Cancer Institute every other week for monitoring, along with regular CT scans.
But for Russ, the benefits have far outweighed the difficulties.
A year and a half into treatment, his cancer's growth has slowed significantly.
“My tumor markers have basically been unchanged for months, so that feels really good,” he says. “It's prolonged my life in a meaningful way.”
Giving Patients More Time
Russ wasn't the only one to benefit from the new targeted therapy.
The Phase 3 clinical trial produced results that drew national attention, including a standing ovation from thousands of physician-scientists at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.
The study found that daraxonrasib doubled survival time for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, increasing it from 6.7 months to 13.2 months. For a disease that has one of the lowest survival rates of any kind of cancer, this extra time can be especially meaningful for patients and families.
Huntsman Cancer Institute is one of only 60 sites who offered the trial worldwide, helping bring promising new therapies to patients like Russ and contributing to research that may reshape how pancreatic cancer is treated for years to come. The findings helped pave the way for FDA approval of daraxonrasib, expanding access to the treatment beyond the clinical trial setting.
Vaia Florou, MD, MS, Huntsman Cancer Institute oncologist, associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah, and principal investigator on the daraxonrasib trial, says the drug represents an encouraging step forward for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.
“Seeing patients like Russ benefit from treatments that simply didn't exist when previous generations faced this disease is why we do this work and why cancer research matters,” she says. “We're seeing patients benefit from therapies that target the biology of their cancer in promising new ways.”
Hope for Future Generations
Because pancreatic cancer has affected multiple generations of his family, Russ knows his children and grandchildren may face an increased risk of the disease. That reality gives him purpose.
He views his participation in the clinical trial not only as a way to address his own disease but also as an opportunity to help future patients by moving research forward.
“It makes me feel really good to know that I'm contributing, that I'm actually helping. Every advance they make is a good thing for my family and for the world, so I feel really great about being a participant.”
Most of all, he is grateful for the gift of time. He often thinks about how little time his mother had after her diagnosis and how different his own experience has been.
The years since his diagnosis have given him opportunities to spend time with his children and grandchildren and make memories he feared he might miss.
In the summer of 2026, Russ marked a milestone he once thought impossible: 1,000 days since his diagnosis.
While he remains realistic about the challenges of pancreatic cancer, he is thankful for the progress that made those days possible and hopeful for what future discoveries may bring.
“1,000 days for pancreatic cancer. I feel pretty good about that.”