The Centre for Community-Driven Research will mark today’s World Pancreatic Cancer Day by launching the very first Pancreatic Cancer Nurse Network program. The Network is a national program providing support and advice to pancreatic cancer patients, their families, and the dedicated nurses that care for them. Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most common cause of all cancer deaths. There are few effective treatments and because the symptoms do not present until the tumour has grown, it is often diagnosed at a late stage. This means that patients and their families are dealing with what is often a terminal diagnosis and left to process new information, make decisions about treatment and navigate the health system in a very intense period. CCDR’s program aims to provide much needed help to pancreatic cancer patients. The program, which is filling a critical gap, has been eagerly awaited by patients and families affected by this devastating disease. Rebecca Sutherland is 28 years old and lost her father, Professor Robert L. Sutherland AO FAA, a world renowned cancer researcher, to pancreatic cancer in 2012, “Dad’s experience with Pancreatic Cancer was unique in that he had as much knowledge about the disease as the professionals who were treating him. Throughout most of his illness he was able to make his own fully informed decisions about his treatment. It was not until his cancer progressed and his health rapidly deteriorated that he could no longer make his own decisions and we as a family were left to make the decisions for him. We found this difficult and confusing and at times were torn between treatment options. For most patients and their families this incredibly difficult and at times overwhelming experience, would have begun at the time of diagnosis.” “A Pancreatic Cancer Nurse Network Program would have been paramount in helping us as a family to make these decisions. The aggressiveness and rapid pace of this disease leaves all involved paddling to stay afloat in a whirlwind of mixed perspectives and emotions. We need a program such as this to ensure patients are provided with the support they and their families deserve.” The Network is coordinated by CCDR Nurse Manager, Josie Byrne, who will be the point of contact for patients and nurses via 13004ANURSE. Patients and their family can book in a consultation with Josie who will make sure they have a care plan and access to all available services in the health system. It will also be a point of reference and advice for pancreatic cancer nurses working in the field who will form a national network, building capacity within the health system to provide better care for pancreatic cancer patients. CCDR’s Chief Executive, Dr. Catherine Holliday developed the program after listening to pancreatic cancer patients and identifying an urgent need to support them and their families to navigate the health system and find appropriate services. “One of the patients that we worked closely with was Erica Ruck. She was an amazing person who worked tirelessly to raise awareness and improve pancreatic cancer care in Australia. The Network will be dedicated to Erica and her mother Margaret Lees who both sadly died from pancreatic cancer.” “We are really pleased to be able to offer this service to pancreatic cancer patients and hope that we can later transfer the model to other cancer types that don’t have a lot of support or funding, such as brain and ovarian cancer, along with other disease streams beyond cancer as well.” To access the service or learn more go to www.13004ANURSE.org or email Catherine Holliday cmholliday@cfcdr.org