Pancreatic cancer ranks just 11th in National Cancer Institute spending despite being the 4th leading cause of cancer death.
Page updated:
January 31, 2010
News update as of:
August 3, 2009
The
Pancreatic Cancer Alliance exists to support you in your
fight against pancreatic cancer. We are a local organization in
Central Massachusetts of patients and families affected by
pancreatic cancer.
On this web site, you'll find links to resources available on the Internet, information on research being undertaken at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester, links to news stories about the struggle as well as information on how you can support research to bring the kinds of advances needed to conquer this underfunded disease.
Pancreatic cancer research lags behind the tremendous strides made in the fight against leukemia, breast cancer, and AIDS. Pancreatic cancer, the nation's 4th leading cancer killer, ranks just 11th in research funding from the National Cancer Institute. The NCI spent just $74.2 million to
fight pancreatic cancer in 2006. (Here's a spreadsheet detailing NCI spending.) As a result, the five-year survival rate is little changed in the past 30 years, while huge strides have been made in fighting other cancers.
Tomorrow we can do better. The new Cancer Research Center at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester has accepted the challenge of pancreatic cancer research and to use that research to help patients as soon as possible — with pancreatic cancer there is no time to wait. Dr. Dario Altieri, director of the center, is assembling an extraordinary research and medical team for the UMass Pancreas Program.
To speed their work, the
Pancreatic Cancer Alliance,
a group of volunteers who have been
affected by this devastating illness, has formed. We're current patients, caregivers, and medical professionals and we're family members and friends of those claimed by this terrible disease.
New handbook available from the Lustgarten Foundation
Understanding Pancreatic Cancer: A Guide for Patients and Caregivers offers up-to-date, comprehensive information on the disease, available free as download or hardcopy.
Awareness posters
We've got posters and info sheets for you to post at your school or place of work. Click for PDF file:
Pancreatic Cancer poster, or
Pancreatic Cancer info sheet. They were created for the Nov. awareness month, but the message is year round.
Alliance funds clinical trials program
Please help: Money raised by the Alliance is being used to fund a dedicated pancreatic cancer clinical trials program at UMass and to support research through the international Pancreatic Cancer Research Team (www.pcrt.org).
Open clinical trials at UMass.
Public awareness is crucial
for pancreatic cancer research
By Brian P. Davis
1957-2005
There is a national tragedy
that no one is talking about.
This story does not make
headlines. You will not see it on
the evening news or hear about
it on the radio. It is usually mentioned
in the obituary section of
the local newspaper. Yet its
impact is felt by countless people
in all 50 states. This stealth
killer moves quickly and without
apparent reason. Yet few
take notice until it is too late.
I know this killer all too well. I
was formally introduced to it on
January 24, 2002. I was diagnosed
with pancreatic cancer
that day. Little compares with
receiving such grave news. I
was lucky, though. My tumor
was operable. Surgery provides
the only hope for cure from this
horrific illness, yet is possible in
only 10 percent to 15 percent of
pancreatic cancer cases.
continued ...
(Brian's struggle ended Sept. 17, 2005.)Tribute
Click
here for pdf version of Brian's piece..
Oped published May 23, 2005, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Links of note
Stories of hope and survival from Pancreatica.org
Read about long-term pancreatic cancer survivors.
UMass Pancreas Program
UMass Surgical Outcomes & Analysis focuses on improving outcomes for patients undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer.
New website for the
UMass Pancreas Program highlights the collaboration between researchers and clinicians to improve care at UMass.
Both efforts are supported by Alliance fundraising.
