Hello

The last time I posted was a year ago to say “thank you”.

All 124k of you that signed contributed significantly to the collective voice calling for Abraxane to be available as an option for suitable pancreatic cancer patients as a means of potentially extending life expectancy.  

Before losing my husband I’d never campaigned, but our Government epetition (signed by 106k people in 2014) and last year’s Abraxane petition has shown just how much people really care. Moreover, it proves that when we pull together, change really can happen.

So many of you commented saying how you’d lost a loved one to cancer, sometimes very quickly after diagnosis which, sadly, is not uncommon where certain cancers are concerned. 

Because this seemed so important to so many I thought you might like to know about the new 'Less Survivable Cancer Taskforce' and the work they are doing.  One of the Taskforce's co-founders has created a petition which I felt many of you may be interested in. 

This petition:   Double the Survival Rates   features Steve. He is 45 years old with a young family and he's fighting to stay alive. Steve reminds me of my husband in that he has a positive attitude and a fighting spirit and I truly hope he can survive for a long time to come.

The Taskforce's target is to double survival rates over the next 10 years for the less survivable cancers which comprise of:

Brain

Liver

Lung & Mesothelioma

Oesophageal

Pancreatic

Stomach

When grouped together, the collective 5-year survival rate for these cancers is 14% and the  Taskforce aims to double this to 28% by 2029. This really needs to happen and the timing of this is important because a new NHS Plan, with updated cancer objectives, is currently being prepared. The new Plan will update the existing Cancer Strategy in England that runs until 2020 so it’s crucial that this is highlighted now so that NHS England may accept the importance of this target.

Without question, all cancers are important. The reason pancreatic cancer is my main focus is because it took my husband at age 48 and also his mum at age 27. Two deaths, forty years apart and no change whatsoever in the shockingly low survival rates.  The cancers listed above have similarly low survival rates.

I’m really hoping that the collective voice continues to grow to push the button for change for people like Steve (featured in the video) and future cancer patients and I am truly grateful to everyone that has helped with the progress this far - thank you!

Best wishes

Maggie

PS – November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month – look out for purple everywhere!