05 Apr Increased Awareness Call for Pancreatic Cancer in the East of England
Only 7% of people in the East 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 East of England, 960 people were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
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 said that: “Despite the increasingly high rate of pancreatic cancer in the UK, our new research highlights a fundamental lack of awareness of the tell-tale 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 ten-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.”
For more information on symptoms, visit pancreaticcanceraware.org.
