Finalist
Pancreatic Cancer Action
Saving Live Through Early Diagnosis
Summary of work
Any diagnosis of cancer is life-changing, but what’s particularly horrific about pancreatic cancer is its survival rate. Just 5%i of those that are diagnosed with it will survive past five and most will die within four to six months. This is the worst survival rate of any of the 22 common cancers and compares with 97%, 85%, and 66% survival for testicular, breast and cervical cancers respectively.
Pancreatic cancer is almost always diagnosed too late for any effective treatment to be conducted (only 10% are diagnosed in time for surgery, which gives them a 30% chance of surviving past five years). In fact, 50% of those diagnosed with the disease find out about it in the Accident & Emergency departments of our hospitals. The reason for this is that the symptoms are not well known by patients and doctors alike and its symptoms are easily confused with other less serious ailments (indigestion, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, etc). Many people who are diagnosed may have been going to the doctors repeatedly with symptoms, in some cases for years.
These are the contributing factors that make pancreatic cancer the fifth biggest cause of cancer death in the UK and it is set to become the fourth biggest by 2030 as other cancers’ survival and mortality rates continue to improveiv. The survival stats have barely changed in over 40 years and there has been precious little advancement in trying to treat or cure the disease.
In 2016 the total spend on pancreatic cancer research was £10.9 million – and in case you think that sounds like a lot – that’s just 5% of all cancer research funding.
So this is a cancer that needs to be moved up the agenda, otherwise another 9,000 lives will be lost every year to this so called ‘silent killer’.
Judges’ comments
The judges felt that Pancreatic Cancer Action had put together a solid campaign with some good examples. They liked the innovation around the elearning module, social media animation and song.
