Rachna Shroff, a University of Arizona cancer researcher and leading specialist, has died at 47 after being diagnosed with the disease she devoted her career to fighting.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology announced Tuesday that Shroff, an expert in pancreatic and bile duct cancers, “passed away following a battle with an aggressive cancer.”
Earlier this year, Shroff was diagnosed with terminal adenocarcinoma, a cancer that begins in glandular tissue lining the organs. She was the mother of Sachin, 13, and Simran, 17.
Doctors initially suspected lymphoma after examining a swollen lymph node in May. 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 months before her death, she made time for meaningful family moments, 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 been raised through the effort to support research aimed at finding a cure.
The award was “one of her final wishes,” according to the University of Arizona.
Shroff, who contributed to more than 80 publications, described her own experience with cancer as a “journey” in an interview with NBC.
“I’ve spent my entire life trying to eradicate cancer, primarily pancreatic cancer but also liver cancers,” she said.
Throughout her battle, she continued to follow a personal motto: “If you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine.”
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“Even in the face of her own diagnosis, Dr. Shroff spent her time endeavoring to ‘be the sunshine’ for others,” ASCO said.
Shroff entered the cancer research field in the 1990s after receiving the Osler Fellowship Award in 1993. The award led to an opportunity to gain work experience in the laboratory at the U of A Cancer Center.
She later attended Brown University, the Ivy League institution in Providence, and earned a degree in biochemistry in 2000.
In 2004, Shroff received her medical doctorate from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
From 2010 to 2018, she was 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 its 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 respected 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.
