DeSean Jackson’s world was turned upside down in 2009 when his father, one of the major driving forces throughout his life and his athletic career, passed away after a five-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
But Jackson, at the time already a star receiver with the Philadelphia Eagles, knew he had the platform as a professional athlete to raise awareness -- as well as funds – to find a cure for this terrible disease that affects more than 48,000 Americans a year.
Through his own DeSean Jackson Foundation, Jackson’s mission continued on Wednesday, when he presented a purple check – the color known worldwide for pancreatic cancer awareness – for $10,000 to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to assist in the fight to stop pancreatic cancer.