Detecting pancreatic cancer earlier with the help of gifts in Wills

Thanks to research, more people than ever are surviving their cancer. In the 1970s, just 1 in 4 people in the UK survived cancer for 10 years or more. Today, that figure has doubled. But, we have so much more to do. We need to go further, and faster.

In the North West, around 43,600 people are diagnosed with cancer every year* and sadly, around 19,400 of them do not survive their diagnosis**. We urgently need to advance research to improve survival for people with cancer. Together, we can support ground-breaking science that will help to save and improve lives for generations to come.

Our pioneering work across the UK, including in the North West, benefits from the generosity of supporters leaving a gift to Cancer Research UK in their Will. In fact, legacy gifts fund a third of our research.

Cancer Research UK funds a world-leading network of centres and institutes, driving our understanding of cancer biology and developing new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease. It is thanks to our incredible supporters that we consistently provide world-class leadership in cancer research.

In the North West, our researchers at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, Manchester Centre and the Manchester and Liverpool Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs) are determined to make a difference for people with cancer in this region and beyond.

Our Manchester Institute is home to the world’s top researchers, who are working to accelerate our understanding of how and why cancer develops and progresses, with the goal of combining this knowledge with pioneering technology to improve survival for people with cancer.

The Cancer Research UK Manchester Centre is a world-leading centre dedicated to taking lab-based discoveries into the clinic. By bringing together scientists and clinicians, the Centre aims to improve survival for people with cancer through their pioneering research.

Our Liverpool and Manchester ECMCs, jointly supported by us and the National Institute for Health Research, bring together lab scientists and cancer doctors from local NHS trusts and universities with the united goal of speeding up the flow of ideas and new treatments from the lab to the clinic. By bringing together experts, these research hubs are accelerating the translation of cutting-edge discoveries from the lab into direct benefits for people with cancer.

Our research is revolutionising what we know about cancer and how we can beat it. Every year, more than 125,000 people with cancer in the UK are treated with drugs linked to our scientists’ research – that’s 3 in 4 people who receive cancer drugs on the NHS. That’s just one of the ways that our supporters and scientists are helping make a difference for people with cancer.

Yet, despite all this progress, there are some forms of cancer where survival has improved very little and have limited treatment options.

Pancreatic cancer is one of these hard-to-treat cancers.

Unfortunately, this disease often shows little or no symptoms until it’s at an advanced stage, when treatment is less likely to be successful. We urgently need to find ways to detect pancreatic cancer earlier.

Professor Eithne Costello is developing a test to use with people who have been newly diagnosed with diabetes to identify those most at risk of developing pancreatic cancer. The importance of developing this test is described by Professor Costello:

“Detecting cancer earlier can make an enormous difference to a person’s chances of surviving their disease for longer. Pancreatic cancer is almost always diagnosed when at an advanced stage. Our research, aimed at earlier detection of this disease, is vitally important and aims to change that.”

Professor Costello’s research has the potential to change clinical practice and could lead to a targeted pancreatic cancer screening programme for these high-risk individuals. Since catching cancer early is key to improving survival, the team’s findings could save lives.

Professor Costello’s work wouldn’t be possible without the help of our incredible supporters. These donations, including gifts in Wills, make a real difference to the future of cancer research.

“Gifts left in Wills to Cancer Research UK are absolutely essential to what I do. They make it possible for my research team to explore ways to detect cancer earlier and improve treatments,” she said.

Support us to fund pioneering researchers like Professor Costello and make cancer a thing of the past. Together we will beat cancer.

To get your free Gifts in Wills Guide, visit cruk.org/pledgenorthwest

*Based on the average annual number of new cases of cancer excl. NSMC (ICD10 C00-C97 excl. C44) diagnosed in the North West of England between 2017 and 2019.

**Based on the average annual number of deaths from cancer (ICD10 C00-C97) in the North West of England between 2017 and 2019.

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