The Cleveland Clinic has announced a $2 million gift from Robert E. Rich, Jr., and his wife, Melinda, to its Digestive Disease Institute to establish the Rich Family Distinguished Chair in Digestive Diseases.

The couple's son, Ted, was treated for pancreatitis at the institute by Dr. R. Matthew Walsh, who will be the first chair holder. A specialist in conditions affecting the liver, gall bladder, and pancreas, Walsh plans to use the funds to support research in early detection of pancreatic cancer, the fourth most common cancer in men and the fifth most common cancer in women. Eighty percent of pancreatic cancers occur in people over the age of 50, and unlike some other types of cancer the disease is difficult to detect in its early stages.

"The sooner we can detect pancreatic cancer, the better," said Walsh. "If we can detect the cancer early, we have a lot more treatment options and, consequently, better survival rates."

Robert Rich chairs the Buffalo-based Rich Products Corp., the largest family-owned frozen food manufacturer in the country, and also heads the Cleveland Clinic's development committee, which is in the midst of a five-year, $1.25 billion capital campaign.