Rachna Shroff, a University of Arizona cancer researcher who dedicated her career to finding better treatments, has died from the disease at 47.
Shroff, a leading specialist in pancreatic and bile duct cancers, “passed away following a battle with an aggressive cancer,” the American Society of Clinical Oncology announced Tuesday.
Earlier this year, Shroff was diagnosed with terminal adenocarcinoma, a cancer that begins in glandular tissue and the linings of the body’s organs. She was the mother of 13-year-old Sachin and 17-year-old Simran.
Doctors initially suspected lymphoma after examining a swollen lymph node in May. However, the cancer had already spread, NBC News reported.
Shroff served as associate director of clinical investigations at the University of Arizona Cancer Center. She died shortly before she and her husband, Dr. Puneet Shroff, were due to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.
In the time remaining to her, she made a point of sharing several important family milestones, including accompanying her daughter on college visits and attending her son’s baseball games.
She also established a Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award in her name. More than $1.35 million has since been raised to support efforts to find a cure for the disease.
The University of Arizona said creating the award was “one of her final wishes.”
Shroff, who wrote more than 80 publications, described her own cancer battle to NBC News as a “journey.”
“I’ve spent my entire life trying to eradicate cancer, primarily pancreatic cancer but also liver cancers,” she said.
Throughout her illness, she continued to follow a personal motto: “If you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine.”
MORE ON THIS: Oscar-Winning Actress Hilary Swank, 52, Expecting Third Child
“Even in the face of her own diagnosis, Dr. Shroff spent her time endeavoring to ‘be the sunshine’ for others,” ASCO said.
Shroff began exploring cancer research in the 1990s. In 1993, she received the Osler Fellowship Award, which gave her the opportunity to gain work experience in the laboratory at the University of Arizona Cancer Center.
She later attended Brown University, the Ivy League institution in Providence, Rhode Island, and graduated with a degree in biochemistry in 2000.
In 2004, Shroff earned her medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
From 2010 to 2018, she worked as an associate professor of gastrointestinal medical oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
Shroff joined the University of Arizona in 2018 and became associate director of clinical research in May 2022.
“At the Cancer Center, she built a high-performing gastrointestinal oncology program and, through her expansion of clinical trials in Southern Arizona, worked to ensure patients could access the latest scientific advances,” the university said. It added that her “most cherished roles were those of [a] wife, mother, and friend.”
She also served on American Society of Clinical Oncology panels focused on gastrointestinal cancers.
Tributes to the pancreatic and bile duct cancer expert have been shared on the Conquer website.
“Her genius is incredible, forever an inspiration,” one mourner said.
“Dr. Shroff was a bright light who had an impact on everyone she encountered. Grateful to have had the opportunity to know her,” another added.
“Dr Shroff and her dedication to help the most vulnerable of patients will not be forgotten. Her life held purpose. I am grateful for the time we worked together,” a third supporter said.