Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Justin Madders (Lab) is urging people to join a campaign to help improve survival rates from a ‘silent’ cancer.
He pledged to be on ‘Purple Alert’ during the recent Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month to help transform the lives of people affected by pancreatic cancer in the constituency.
At a Parliamentary drop-in event Mr Madders heard that 93% of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will not survive five years or more and there has been very little improvement in survival since the early 1970s.
The MP said: “Tragically, pancreatic cancer took the lives of 171 people in the NHS West Cheshire clinical commissioning group area during 2010-2014.
“It is clear that much more work is required to achieve the improvements in survival so desperately needed.
“This year, 9,600 people in the UK will get pancreatic cancer. I want to encourage everyone in Ellesmere Port and Neston to join me in getting on Purple Alert to help change the future for everyone affected by the disease.”
The cancer is often known as a silent cancer as the symptoms are vague and early diagnosis can be difficult.
To join the Purple Alert campaign and help Pancreatic Cancer UK raise funds to offer vital support to patients and families, invest in crucial research and be a voice for everyone affected by the disease people can visit www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/pcam.
