CALDWELL, Idaho — Longtime Caldwell police officer Chad Register loved his job.
"He's the best officer I've ever known," detective specialist and school resource officer for the Caldwell Police Department, Eric Phillips said.
Phillips said he worked with Register at the Caldwell Police Department for 14 years. Register served his community right up until his death in 2016.
“He never wanted to be sick," his wife Diana Register said. “He never wanted to give up, and he didn’t want to fail his patrol team or his community or us.”
Six years later, Diana Register said raising awareness about pancreatic cancer is her life’s mission. Caldwell Mayor Jarom Wagoner is set to sign a proclamation in Chad Register's honor on Tuesday.
Chad Register died from pancreatic cancer in 2016 – he was 45.
“It’s not just an old man’s disease,” Diana Register said. “It’s one of the top three cancer killers in the United States.”
American Cancer Society data shows lung cancer and colorectal cancer. In fact, the ACS predicts almost 50,000 people in the United States will die from pancreatic cancer this year.
Diana Register said proclamations are an effective way to raise awareness, but there has not been an official proclamation recognizing Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in two years.
Wagoner said the proclamation not only honors Chad Register, but it also helps spread the word about just how devastating pancreatic cancer is.
“Anything we can do to bring awareness to [pancreatic cancer] and also to honor his legacy is just wonderful,” Wagoner said.
Diana Register is now also a city councilmember, which she said makes this proclamation a bit more special.
Nov. 17 is World Pancreatic Cancer Day. Diana Register said she encourages people wear purple to show their support for those fighting pancreatic cancer.
There is also a foundation, “Iam149,” which was Chad Register's badge number. She said the foundation mainly grants wishes to people with pancreatic cancer.
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