Pancreatic Cancer Survivor and Chairperson of NIPANC speaking at yesterday’s launch at the Mater Hospital of the NI Audit of Pancreatic Cancer which revealed an 86% increase in people being diagnosed with the disease.
READ WHAT IVAN HAD TO SAY...
It is wonderful to have been able to provide the funding for the first Pancreatic Cancer Audit in over 10 years.
Its findings give us a much clearer picture of the current situation and a pathway for improvement.
Research is one of NIPANC’s three core aims and this Audit is a form of that research. The findings which Sinead has so excellently presented to us are not only are clear but need to be acted upon and continue to be acted on.
Ongoing Audits at regular intervals must also be undertaken and NIPANC is committed to funding these going forward.
The report also highlights another of our core aims – Raising awareness.
#Time Matters when it comes to a Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis and NIPANC continues to drive awareness of the symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer to both the general public and medical community.
It is NIPANC’s objective to reach every person in NI and the medical community to reinforce our #Time Matters message to raise awareness of the symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer and the need for urgent diagnosis and treatment. www.nipanc.org/symptoms
This will ensure that need for earlier diagnosis highlighted in the report becomes a reality, not just an objective, and in so doing will increase the numbers of patients who are suitable for surgery resulting in lives being saved. Saving Lives from Pancreatic Cancer is NIPANC’s ultimate aim.
As someone who is now 11 and a half years post diagnosis, I stand in front of you as living proof of that need for increased awareness of symptoms, early diagnosis, cutting back waiting times and improved treatment pathways.
Though those last 11 years I have met and talked with many Pancreatic Cancer patients and my summary of those meetings and chats is very simple – more of those folks who received an early diagnosis and treatment are still meeting with me and talking with me than the ones who didn’t – quite simply, this is a life and death matter.
However, there is hope for patients to be able to survive Pancreatic Cancer and acting on the findings of this Northern Ireland Cancer Registry Audit will help greatly in the fight against this killer disease.
Thank you to you Damian and Sinead and your wider team for all your work on this Audit over the past months.
Our thanks also go to the team at Queens University and also the clinical staff in the Belfast Health and Social Trust for all their valuable input into this report.
It is a very informative piece of work based on facts and as I said at the outset, NIPANC are delighted to have provided the funding for its production and to continue to do so for future Audits.
Thank you,
Ivan McMinn MBE