I think the last 18 months has given us all a different perspective on life. Life is short, and so precious! I mean, I knew that anyway but I didn’t fully appreciate it until six years ago.
A few years back, I actually saw something online promoting ‘Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month’. It said “You wonder why you should raise awareness of Pancreatic Cancer when you don’t know anyone with it? Because at one point, neither did I.” That has really stayed with me ever since.
I lost my Dad to this awful disease back in January 2016. He passed away six months to the day from his diagnosis, at only 46 years old. He was completely healthy, so it was a complete and utter shock for us all.
Even after six years, the mortality statistics around Pancreatic Cancer haven’t changed. In fact, according to Cancer Research UK, Pancreatic cancer survival in the UK has not changed in the last 40 years. It has the lowest survival of all common cancers, with five-year survival at less than 7%.
There are some amazing charities out there, working hard to change this. To support them, ResourceiT are doing our bit with various fundraising activities; bake sales, each of us taking on Challenge 24, lighting up ResourceiT with purple lights plus lots more. Keep an eye on our LinkedIn feed for everything we get up to over the coming few weeks.
Pancreatic cancer is hard for doctors to spot and there’s no simple diagnostic test, so if you read one thing today, please read this because early detection can save lives. Signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer:
- Unexplained dramatic weight loss
- Tummy or back pain
- Jaundice (yellow skin or eyes)
- Change in bowel habits
- Indigestion
If you’d like to help support our fundraising efforts, you can donate to Pancreatic Cancer here.
