Facts about Pancreatic Cancer from The Pancreatic Action Network:
Pancreatic Cancer: the statistics
Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
In 2008, an estimated 37,680 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and 34,290 will die from the disease.
Men are 20% more likely to get pancreatic cancer than women and the majority of cases occur in people over the age of 65. The incidence rate among African-Americans is 40 to 50% higher than other ethnic groups.
Pancreatic cancer research constitutes less than 2% of the National Cancer Institute’s federal research funding—a figure far too low given the severity of the disease.
From a scientific research perspective, pancreatic cancer is where breast cancer was in the 1930s. Advancing pancreatic cancer research into the 21st century is dependent upon the increase of basic scientific research.
Accomplishments: how our efforts have succeeded
We launched Raise the Cure in 2008 – a campaign to secure $170 million in federal funding and $25 million in private funding for pancreatic cancer research.
The efforts of our Government Affairs program has resulted in a $56.7 million increase in federal funding for pancreatic cancer researchers around the country since the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network was founded in 1999.
In 2007, our nationwide network of advocates sent close to 18,000 messages to 530 Members of Congress about the importance of increasing funding for pancreatic cancer research.
Since introducing the Research Grants Program in 2003, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network has provided over $3.7 million in funding for research. This includes six Fellowship/Young Investigator Awards, 23 Career Development Awards, and nine Pilot Grants.
The Patient and Liaison Services (PALS) associates have helped over 25,000 patients and families since the program was launched in 2002.
PALS has produced over 45 fact sheets*, four educational booklets*, and over 20 pancreatic cancer symposia in major cities across the country.
Our Community Outreach program has developed over 75 volunteer affiliates throughout the US who educate communities and build awareness about pancreatic cancer.
It is time to take action against a disease that has been ignored
for too long.
