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Increased Awareness Call for
Pancreatic Cancer in the North West
ONLY 7% of people in the North West of
England know a lot about pancreatic cancer, according to a national awareness
survey commissioned by Pancreatic Cancer Action.
Nationally, the figures are even worse, with 5% claiming they know a lot about
the disease.
Across the nation this year, 9600 men and women will be diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer and 8,800 will die of the disease. In the North West, 1047
people were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Of that number, only 52 survived.
It is the UK's 5th worst cause of cancer death, with a survival rate of just 5%; the worst of the 22 most common cancers. Despite these stats, pancreatic
cancer remains largely unheard of and research into the disease is chronically
underfunded.
Pancreatic Cancer Action is a UK charity
founded by Ali Stunt, a rare survivor of the disease. The charity's main
objective is to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer with the public, the UK
medical community and the government in order to improve early diagnosis.
Ali Stunt says that:- "Despite the increasingly high rate of pancreatic
cancer in the UK, our new research highlights a fundamental lack of awareness of
the telltale signs of the disease. Survival rates of pancreatic cancer remain at a standstill, with less than 1% of
sufferers being given a prognosis for a 10 year life expectancy. Given that
there is currently no screening process available for pancreatic cancer, it is
imperative that people can spot the signs and symptoms early enough to make
surgery a viable option, in order to secure earlier diagnosis of this deadly
disease, and improve survival rates."
Symptoms include (but are not limited to) jaundice, weight loss, new onset
diabetes and severe abdominal or back pain.
Most people with these symptoms do not have pancreatic cancer, but anyone with
one or more of them should see their GP. Studies show that diagnosis early
enough for surgery increases a patient's life expectancy significantly.
For more information on symptoms visit:-
PancreaticCancerAware.Org.
To find out how you can help to increase awareness and ultimately reduce
pancreatic cancer deaths in the UK, contact Natasha at Pancreatic Cancer Action
at:-
natasha@panact.org.
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