Dr. Rachna Shroff, a physician scientist who spent much of her career researching treatments for gastrointestinal cancers, has died at the age of 47. She briefly battled an aggressive form of the disease she was trying to cure.
Earlier this year, Shroff, associate director of clinical investigations at the University of Arizona Cancer Center, was diagnosed with cancer of unknown origin after developing a swollen lymph node in May. By the end of the month, the disease had spread elsewhere in his body and tests showed it likely originated in his stomach or intestine.
His medical team initially thought it was lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, but it was later confirmed to be terminal adenocarcinoma, which develops in the cells that line organs.
Yet she attended a major cancer research conference just days after her diagnosis so she could continue to spread the word about recent clinical advances.
“It’s been a journey,” Shroff told NBC News’ Anne Thompson about his diagnosis in a Zoom interview shortly before his death. “I have spent my whole life trying to eradicate cancer, mainly pancreatic cancer, but also liver cancer.”
There is no cure for her condition, which was difficult for her and her family – husband Puneet, son Sachin, 13, and daughter Simran, 17 – to think about, especially since she had done so much to give other patients more options and time.
In her work at the University of Arizona, she helped advance hundreds of clinical trials, Dr. Dan Theodorescu, the cancer center’s endowed chair and Shroff’s boss, told Thompson.
“It’s really exciting because she’s been able to set up clinical trial operations very efficiently. And… what she’s done for the institution, in addition to running her own clinical trials and seeing patients, she’s also been able to recruit some very, very bright young people,” he said.
It’s part of the legacy that Shroff says she hopes will “outlive” her, calling it her “No. 1 credo.”
Beyond the lasting impact of his career, Shroff said his main priority is his children: “That’s really all that matters here to me. »
Samrin and Sachin each shared with Thompson the quality they love most about their mother.
“Her tenacity… everything she does is she gets through everything, and she figures out how to do it and how to be successful personally and professionally, and I really admire that,” Samrin said.
“I would probably say how loving she is,” Sachin added.
Rachna and Puneet Shroff were just a few months away from their 20th wedding anniversary when she passed away.
“Puneet was the reason why I walked forward. And his ability to understand my point of view and his ability… to stand by me,” Shroff said.
Even though they weren’t able to celebrate this major milestone together, they tried to enjoy the small but happy moments of the past few months, like Samrin’s visit to college and Sachin’s baseball games.
“To have no worries, so to speak, in the world, and then to have them all at your feet at the same time, it’s both overwhelming,” Puneet said at the time. “But it also teaches you resilience, and I hope it teaches our children resilience. I hope, for Rachna’s sake, it gives her strength and courage.”
Gn Health
