BOISE — November marks pancreatic cancer awareness month, a time aimed at raising awareness about a very serious cancer.
To honor the month, Idaho Governor Butch Otter has officially declared November 16 as “James Chad Register Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day.”
Register, a Caldwell Police Officer, passed away in 2016.
To help raise awareness, Register’s family is now sharing his story.
"My love story is my favorite love story, for sure," said Chad’s wife, Diana Register.
Diana and Chad met when they were just kids.
"I remember looking at him and thinking, 'oh my God he is so cute, like perfect boy next door,'" said Register
But like a lot of high school love stories, life took the young couple in separate ways. But, years later, the pair reconnected online, and their love story was back on track.
"He came back, it was over Thanksgiving weekend, we met again, and we were engaged by January. There was never a second thought," said Register.
The pair married in 2002, and their love story took them on a path to Idaho. Chad worked as an officer for Caldwell Police, his wife worked in the department office.
Life moved along as normal for the register's until suddenly the couple received news that would change their love story forever.
“Chad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January of 2015, at the time we just didn't know anything about it," said Register.
But Chad and Diana quickly found that Pancreatic cancer was going to be an incredibly tough challenge.
"Even at a lower stage diagnosis, your chances of surviving the disease are very slim. and those numbers have not changed in over 40 years," said Register.
But through draining medical treatment and incredible pain it all, Chad still continued to put on his Badge and serve his community.
"You would have never even known he was sick," said Register. "He ended up having chemotherapy in Seattle and some days he would go to Seattle and have his chemotherapy and come home and sleep that day and go back to work that night or the next day and you never knew it, no one ever knew."
After battling pancreatic cancer for 18 months, Chad Register passed away on June 24th of 2016.
"I miss him every day, my life doesn't ever feel complete in that way. I always feel like I'm missing something," said Register.
Through the challenging battle with pancreatic cancer Diana found that pancreatic cancer was not talked about in her community as much as she hoped, so she decided to make a difference.
"We decided that the best thing we could do to honor him was to create a foundation that would give back to pancreatic cancer in the form of a wish-granting type of organization," said Register. "His badge number at work was 149 so we've created the "I am 149 foundation."
With the signature purple color, That foundation is now successfully bringing awareness and help to people struggling with pancreatic cancer in the valley.
But Diana is also helping people around the world deal with another battle, grief.
"There were times where I missed him so much that I couldn't keep it inside anymore, it had to come out in some way," said Register.
Through her husband’s battle with cancer, Diana began writing to help deal with her grief. She started with Facebook posts about what she was dealing with, but A short time later though, she was a bestselling author.
This past fall she released, “Grief Life: A memoir of love, loss and triumph.”
"I didn't know it would even get noticed, I thought I would write the book and my friends would just buy it, and then they will get off my back about writing a book. But it just went crazy, it just blew up," said Register.
Within her words, Diana shared a meaningful message that has helped people deal with their own tragedy.
"I realized it was okay to not be okay. I didn't have to pretend to be strong or that I could just do it or nothing ever happened, it was okay to grieve and it was okay to mourn," said Register. "They will get through it they will find ways to cope with it and in 50 years from now it’s still going to be there but you will also have lived this great big beautiful life with it there."
To help raise awareness, on Friday, November 16, Dutch Bros locations in Boise, Garden City, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Payette and Ontario will donate $1 from every drink sold to #IAM149, an organization formed to grant “wishes” for patients battling pancreatic cancer and their families.
“We are honored to help this amazing organization fulfill its mission to assist people battling pancreatic cancer,” said Jeff Yarnall, owner of Dutch Bros Meridian. “We are moved by the dedication and love that #IAM149 shows to patients and families, and we want to support Officer Register’s wife, Diana, in any way we can.”