cancer /asmagazine/ en 'Your love will be your legacy' /asmagazine/2025/07/23/your-love-will-be-your-legacy <span>'Your love will be your legacy'</span> <span><span>Rachel Sauer</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-07-23T07:30:00-06:00" title="Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 07:30">Wed, 07/23/2025 - 07:30</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-07/Gio%20Ruffolo%20and%20dad%20thumbnail.jpg?h=9fb6362d&amp;itok=I8Rik3FL" width="1200" height="800" alt="John and Giovanna Ruffolo holding illuminated balloons"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/30"> News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1242" hreflang="en">Division of Natural Sciences</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/352" hreflang="en">Integrative Physiology</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/144" hreflang="en">Psychology and Neuroscience</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/917" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1102" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/456" hreflang="en">cancer</a> <a href="/asmagazine/taxonomy/term/1053" hreflang="en">community</a> </div> <a href="/asmagazine/sarah-kuta">Sarah Kuta</a> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="lead"><em>Losing her father to pancreatic cancer inspired CU СƵ undergraduate Giovanna Ruffolo to raise money for cancer research and pursue a career in medicine</em></p><hr><p><span lang="EN">Giovanna Ruffolo was a senior in high school when her dad died of pancreatic cancer.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">While other students were looking forward to prom and graduation, Ruffolo was navigating a web of tangled emotions—shock, disbelief, sadness, anger, uncertainty.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">“Losing a parent is probably the most intense pain someone can feel in their entire life,” she says. “It’s a terrible, terrible pain.”</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-07/Gio%20Ruffolo%20and%20family.jpg?itok=VzYChEgq" width="1500" height="1196" alt="Leo, Joey and Giovanna Ruffolo with their mother"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text">Giovanna Ruffolo (second from right) with her brothers Leo (left, a 2024 CU СƵ graduate) and Joey (second from left, a CU Denver student) and their mom, Rosanna. (Photo: Giovanna Ruffolo)</p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">Mostly, though, she just felt numb. Heading off to college so soon after her father’s death was the last thing she wanted to do. But she knew education was important to her dad, so she pushed through the pain and enrolled at CU СƵ.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Now a senior studying integrative physiology and psychology, Ruffolo is preparing for a career in medicine so that, someday, she can help support families just like hers. She hopes to work in pediatric oncology, providing compassionate care to children who are fighting cancer.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">As a Buff, Ruffolo is also honoring her father’s legacy by raising money and awareness for cancer prevention research, an initiative she started just after her father got his diagnosis.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">“I just want people to know they have a support system and a network that hates cancer as much as they do—that they’re not alone,” she says.</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>Helping others</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">Life was rolling along for the Ruffolo family when they got the news that would change their lives forever. In 2017, their beloved patriarch, </span><a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/john-ruffolo-obituary?id=7635215" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">John Ruffolo</span></a><span lang="EN">, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a disease that is often fatal.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">“It hit us like a bus,” says Ruffolo.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Pancreatic cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health. Between 2015 and 2021, the five-year survival rate was just </span><a href="https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/pancreas.html" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">13.3 percent</span></a><span lang="EN">—much lower than other types of cancer. In 2025, the American Cancer Society </span><a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/pancreatic-cancer/about/key-statistics.html" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">estimates</span></a><span lang="EN"> 67,440 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and 51,980 people will die from the disease.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">“It’s the cancer that really gives cancer its bad name,” Ruffolo says.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-07/Giovanna%20Ruffolo%20purple%20event.jpg?itok=FFIW31lE" width="1500" height="668" alt="High school students in group photo wearing purple shirts"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text"><span lang="EN">Prospect Ridge Academy High School Students participate in a cancer fundraiser organized by Giovanna Ruffolo in 2019. (Photo: Giovanna Ruffolo)</span></p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">Ruffolo was just 14 at the time, but she felt compelled to take action. As a sophomore at Prospect Ridge Academy High School</span><em><span lang="EN">,&nbsp;</span></em><span lang="EN">she created TeamRuffolo, a student-led initiative to raise money and awareness for cancer research.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In November 2018, her school hosted a “Purple Out”—a one-day event in which students were encouraged to wear purple to show their support for the cancer community and donate whatever they could toward prevention research. Students, teachers and administrators raised more than $1,000 for the American Cancer Society that day, and Ruffolo went home feeling inspired and hopeful.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">She organized similar fundraisers at her high school in 2019 and 2020 (though the initiative had to go virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic).</span></p><p><span lang="EN">“It was such a wonderful feeling,” she says. “A lot of these people didn’t even know my dad, but&nbsp; they were still so supportive. Seeing people come together not only for him, but just to say, ‘You’re not alone,’ was tremendous for all of us.”</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>Balancing act</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">Meanwhile, despite undergoing various treatments and surgeries, her father’s cancer continued to progress. Four years after his diagnosis, he succumbed to the disease in January 2021 at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">Ruffolo was utterly devastated, but she knew she had to finish high school and get a college degree for her dad. And, wherever she ended up next, she wanted to continue her awareness-raising and fundraising events to support other cancer patients and their families.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-07/Giovanna%20Ruffolo%20CU%20СƵ%20runners.JPG?itok=l_ykhxGX" width="1500" height="1185" alt="CU СƵ students running in a 5K to raise money for cancer"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text">CU СƵ participants run in the Stronger Together Annual 5K at CU in 2024, the event's most successful year. (Photo: Giovanna Ruffolo)</p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">At CU СƵ, Ruffolo has thrown herself into her studies, with an ultimate goal of working in the medical field. From her father’s experience, Ruffolo learned first-hand that cancer affects more than just the body—it also influences a patient’s mind, spirit and emotions. With that in mind, she’s majoring in integrative physiology and psychology to create her own pre-health pathway.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">“My father had trouble grasping being diagnosed with a terminal disease, as anyone rightfully would,” she says. “I want to understand people’s behaviors and thoughts better, so that when someone is going through a hardship, I can better support them.”</span></p><p><span lang="EN">To further build her skill set, Ruffolo also completed CU’s emergency medical technician (EMT) program, an online, non-credit specialization that prepares students for national registry testing. She has also worked as a research assistant at CU СƵ and Children's Hospital Colorado.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In addition, Ruffolo has taken on a leadership role with the CU СƵ chapter of the American Medical Student Association, spending three years on the executive board before being elected president for the 2025-26 school year. Through the student group, Ruffolo has carried on her TeamRuffolo efforts—now called Stronger Together—by organizing 5-kilometer run/walk events to raise money for the American Cancer Society.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">She is also a journey leader with New Student &amp; Family Programs, where she helps incoming freshmen navigate the CU СƵ experience. Balancing her studies with her extracurricular activities—while also supporting her family and honoring her father’s legacy—has been challenging. But, for Ruffolo, it all comes back to staying true to herself.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">“Pretty much my tippy-top value is helping others,” she says.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">In class, Ruffolo has never been afraid to ask questions and speak up—even when that means talking about her father’s death in a large lecture hall full of hundreds of students. </span><a href="/psych-neuro/jennifer-stratford" rel="nofollow"><span lang="EN">Jennifer Stratford</span></a><span lang="EN">, a CU СƵ teaching associate professor of psychology and neuroscience, says Ruffolo’s willingness to be vulnerable has opened the door for other students to share their experiences.</span></p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-xlarge"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/asmagazine/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-07/John%20Ruffolo.JPG?itok=n3zTTbKf" width="1500" height="1183" alt="Portrait of John Ruffolo"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p class="small-text">John Ruffolo died from pancreatic cancer in 2021. (Photo: Giovanna Ruffolo)</p> </span> </div></div><p><span lang="EN">“She just kind of became an ambassador and a face for students who have lost parents,” says Stratford. “I’ve had a lot of feedback from students about how much they appreciated her bravery and how much they identified with some of the struggles she’d been through. It’s a once-in-a-decade or once-in-a-lifetime experience to see a single student have an impact on so many of her classmates.”</span></p><p><span lang="EN"><strong>‘Your love will be your legacy’</strong></span></p><p><span lang="EN">Since high school, Ruffolo estimates she’s helped raise more than $20,000 for the American Cancer Society. And she’s not done yet. She hopes the CU СƵ AMSA chapter will continue organizing the 5K run/walk fundraisers, and that she’ll be able to host similar events during the next phase of her educational journey.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">For now, Ruffolo is focused on finishing up her studies so she can graduate in the spring of 2026. From there, she hopes to continue her education in the medical field, likely as a doctor or physician assistant specializing in pediatric oncology.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">“I really want to serve that specific community,” she says. “You’re treating little people who have lots of emotions and a little body. They get very scared easily. You really have to be empathetic and treat them and their families with kindness. I love the idea of sitting down with people, holding their hands, talking to them—not just giving them a death sentence, walking out the door and saying, ‘Best of luck.’”</span></p><p><span lang="EN">That approach stems directly from her father’s experiences. As he neared the end of his life, Ruffolo remembers him breaking down and talking about how scared he was. She hopes to be the kind of practitioner who will help people like her dad move forward through their pain and fear, while also treating their underlying illness.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">“Your love will be your legacy,” she says. “In a world where there’s no cure for cancer, investing your time in others is the only way you can live forever. And loving other people—giving them kindness and empathy—is one of the best ways to help fight any disease.