The human adventure against pancreatic cancer is more than just beginning. Once again, several familiar Star Trek figures and many of the franchise’s fans are lending their support to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s (PanCAN) annual PurpleStride Los Angeles event.
PurpleStride LA veterans Jonathan Frakes, Kitty Swink, Armin Shimerman, John Billingsley, and Juan Carlos Coto from the Star Trek universe are all on board for next year’s event, which will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2026.
So, why are Frakes, Swink, Shimerman, Billingsley, and Coto so deeply involved in PanCAN and PurpleStride? Daniel Frakes, the brother of the popular Star Trek: The Next Generation actor and frequent franchise director Jonathan Frakes, succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 1997. Pancreatic cancer also claimed Coto’s brother, Enterprise writer, producer, and fourth-season showrunner Manny Coto in 2023.
Swink is a Deep Space Nine guest star who is married to DS9 series regular Shimerman, and she is a longtime pancreatic cancer survivor, at 21 years and counting. Billingsley lost his mother to the disease in 1990, just a couple of months after her diagnosis.
"The three of us – Armin, Kitty, and Jonathan joined forces with PanCAN a few years ago to use our voices to amplify the fight against pancreatic cancer," Shimerman, Swink, and Frakes said in a statement on the PanCAN site. "Shortly after, John Billingsley joined the team and soon after that, Juan Carlos Coto jumped in!"
The statement continues as follows:
"We were overwhelmed with what we were able to accomplish along with our Trek family! In 2024, Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer was the #1 team in the country raising nearly $250,000! So, we are back to raise money, raise awareness, and raise hope — as well as raising the survival rate for pancreatic cancer as a part of PanCAN PurpleStride 2026!"
The group’s team, Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer, is captained by Swink. At the time of this writing, they have raised just under $60,000 toward a goal of $150,000 for the 2026 PurpleStride event.
PanCAN's Five-Year (2025-2030) Action Plan sets "bold" goals which include educating the public about pancreatic cancer, increasing the awareness of PanCAN to 30%, raising $60 million, and shooting for a survival rate of 20% in that time frame. For more information, and to get involved, visit the PanCAN website.
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