Why Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund was created

Each year approximately 7,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It is the fifth most common cause of cancer death and has the lowest survival rate of all cancers. While real progress has been made in treating many other types of cancer, survival rates for pancreatic cancer have barely changed. Yet despite the high death rate, pancreatic cancer attracts little research funding in comparison with many other cancers.

"After Alan’s death, I wanted to do something to help find a cure. I was shocked and outraged when I discovered how little research was being done on pancreatic cancer, particularly given the poor survival rates,” says Maggie Blanks, founder of the charity. “I wanted to understand why this was the case, so I talked to the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI), the umbrella body representing the fifteen largest cancer research funders from the Government and charity sectors. I also talked to some of the researchers working on pancreatic cancer. According to the NCRI, there are a number of factors that influence the level of research funding for particular types of cancer, but it seemed to me that researchability and fundraising were significant ones for pancreatic cancer:

• Researchability – Some tumour types are easier to work on than others …and many researchers are attracted to areas or disease where there is real evidence or potential for progress.
• Fundraising – Certain tumours may attract more public donations than others.

In terms of researchability, there are easier cancers to work on. Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat, because it is unusually aggressive, symptoms are often vague and appear at a late stage and surgery is very difficult.

On the fundraising question, public donations specifically for pancreatic cancer were very limited, because this cancer rarely makes the headlines. We need to make more people aware of the disease and the need for much more research.

PCRF was founded in April 2004 to try and address these issues – to not only raise new funds for research, but to be a voice for pancreatic cancer sufferers and argue for a fair allocation of research funding and attention. Experience in dealing with other cancers has shown us that bringing both new awareness and new funding can have an enormous impact on overcoming the disease. That’s our goal for pancreatic cancer."