Kevan Jones MP has pledged his support to Pancreatic Cancer UK’s campaign demanding faster treatment for people with pancreatic cancer – one in four patients with the disease die within a month of diagnosis making it the quickest killing cancer. The charity is calling for the Government and devolved administrations to set a new ambition to begin treatment for all pancreatic cancer patients across the UK within 20 days of diagnosis by 2024.
At the launch of Pancreatic Cancer UK’s Demand Faster Treatment campaign, Kevan Jones MP heard that if avoidable delays to treatment were removed many more pancreatic cancer patients could be eligible for surgery – the only current cure for the disease. To help achieve this ambition the charity is recommending the roll-out of a new treatment programme which in a recent trial successfully reduced patients’ time to surgery from two months to just over two weeks.
Kevan Jones MP said: “41 people in North Durham are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year and tragically less than seven per cent will survive beyond five years. This is unacceptable and much more needs to be done to improve the outcomes for people with this deadly disease.
“I hope everyone in North Durham will join me in backing this campaign to transform the future for people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and help them receive treatment before it is too late.”
Pancreatic Cancer UK is calling on the UK Government and devolved administrations to set a new ambition to treat all patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 20 days by 2024. To find out more about the Demand Faster Treatment campaign and sign the petition, visit: www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/demandfastertreatment