Pancreatic Cancer UK encouraged people to get creative and organise 'purple days' last week to help raise money to fund support and treatment for patients, and research into what is now the fifth most common cause of cancer death in the UK.
Pancreatic cancer has the poorest survival rate with just 15 per cent surviving one year and three per cent surviving five years – compared with 80 per cent for breast cancer and 70 per cent for prostate cancer.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, who supports Pancreatic Cancer UK and Purple Days, said: 'The words 'pancreatic cancer' strike fear into the heart of every doctor – and with good reason. While survival rates for many other cancers have rocketed in recent years, death rates for pancreatic cancer remain tragically high.
'We urgently need investment in research to bring hope to the many sufferers from this dreadful disease.'
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