4 days ago
Letter demands better pancreatic cancer detection in Wales
The letter, signed by more than 59,000 people, was handed over on behalf of a dad who died four weeks after his diagnosis.
Pancreatic Cancer UK joined forces with Plaid Cymru's deputy Senedd leader, Delyth Jewell MS, and Isla Gear, a Scottish campaigner whose brother, Tam Barker, died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 47.
Mr Barker's diagnosis came too late and he died, leaving behind a 12-year-old son.
Since then, Ms Gear has been fighting for earlier detection of the disease, and her petition on received 200,000 signatures.
Ms Jewell said: "Pancreatic cancer still robs too many people of their loved ones.
"Five hundred people will likely be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer every year in Wales, but 300 of them will be diagnosed at a late stage.
"It's these cruelly late diagnosis rates that we have to tackle because we have to find new ways of offering hope to the people it affects.
"My grandmother died of pancreatic cancer more than 20 years ago.
"The pain she went through was devastating to my family, and I want to do everything I can to prevent other families from having to face that kind of ordeal.
"I don't want anyone to have to go through what she went through, or what my mother went through in losing her like that."
The letter calls for the Welsh Government to invest in regular monitoring for those at high risk, support the development of new detection tests, and urge the UK Government to allocate at least £35 million annually for 20 years for research.
Currently, there are no early detection tests, and 80 per cent of patients are not diagnosed until the cancer is at an advanced stage.
Isla Gear, 38, said: "While he was in hospital Tam said he never wanted anyone else to go through this.
"By uniting, I hope to raise even more awareness and secure change for everyone facing pancreatic cancer in the future."
