On 15 November 2017 Nik Dakin MP for Scunthorpe and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Pancreatic Cancer hosted a meeting in Parliament of stakeholders, including LAPR&D, to launch the publication of “Need for Speed.” This is the group’s strategy on tackling pancreatic cancer. A copy of the document can be found at http://www.pancanappg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/5934_PCUK_APPG_Report_HR4.pdf
LAPR&D were consulted on the content of the strategy which includes 6 themes:
1. INCREASED RESEARCH FUNDING
2. MORE AND EXPANDED PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS
3. INCREASED GP SUPPORT
4. FASTER DIAGNOSTIC PATHWAYS
5. FAST TRACK SURGERY AND OTHER TREATMENTS
6. CANCER STRATEGY AND CANCER ALLIANCES
The launch meeting, attended by over 100 delegates, heard from medical professionals on the need to do things differently - focus on early diagnosis; jaundice clinic and treatment within a week. Speakers encouraged the use of “Need for Speed” as a working document to influence attitudes. They also explained the difficulty in that symptoms are vague and 38% of patients had to visit their GP 3 times before being referred for specialist care. It is vital therefore that decision aids are develop to assist diagnosis and keep GPs updated.
The meeting also heard from Cariad Lloyd, actor, comedian and writer who has appeared in Peep Show, Have I Got News For You and 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown. She lost her own father to pancreatic cancer when she was 15. She supported the work of the APPPG and the proposals in the “Need for Speed”. She joked, abeit with a serious message “the pancreas does not get a good press; you aren’t told to get it out and give it a feel! It is the antithesis to Donald Trump! We need to shout about it to ensure we get more survivors!”
Paul Over, Charity Volunteer, who attended the meeting on behalf of LAPR&D said “I was really impressed with the amount of work that has been undertaken to raise the profile of pancreatic cancer. If the proposals contained with the strategy document “Need for Speed”, especially those related to early diagnosis and research, are acted upon then there is much to be hopeful for. LAPR&D are funding new research that will support the aims of the APPG and is interested in collaborating with others to increase the speed with which we reached our shared objectives”.
An update on our research programme can be found in our Winter 2017 Newsletter, available via our website, and a detailed update will be provided shortly.
LAPR&D were consulted on the content of the strategy which includes 6 themes:
1. INCREASED RESEARCH FUNDING
2. MORE AND EXPANDED PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS
3. INCREASED GP SUPPORT
4. FASTER DIAGNOSTIC PATHWAYS
5. FAST TRACK SURGERY AND OTHER TREATMENTS
6. CANCER STRATEGY AND CANCER ALLIANCES
The launch meeting, attended by over 100 delegates, heard from medical professionals on the need to do things differently - focus on early diagnosis; jaundice clinic and treatment within a week. Speakers encouraged the use of “Need for Speed” as a working document to influence attitudes. They also explained the difficulty in that symptoms are vague and 38% of patients had to visit their GP 3 times before being referred for specialist care. It is vital therefore that decision aids are develop to assist diagnosis and keep GPs updated.
The meeting also heard from Cariad Lloyd, actor, comedian and writer who has appeared in Peep Show, Have I Got News For You and 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown. She lost her own father to pancreatic cancer when she was 15. She supported the work of the APPPG and the proposals in the “Need for Speed”. She joked, abeit with a serious message “the pancreas does not get a good press; you aren’t told to get it out and give it a feel! It is the antithesis to Donald Trump! We need to shout about it to ensure we get more survivors!”
Paul Over, Charity Volunteer, who attended the meeting on behalf of LAPR&D said “I was really impressed with the amount of work that has been undertaken to raise the profile of pancreatic cancer. If the proposals contained with the strategy document “Need for Speed”, especially those related to early diagnosis and research, are acted upon then there is much to be hopeful for. LAPR&D are funding new research that will support the aims of the APPG and is interested in collaborating with others to increase the speed with which we reached our shared objectives”.
An update on our research programme can be found in our Winter 2017 Newsletter, available via our website, and a detailed update will be provided shortly.
