World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition Demands Better in New Video

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Several leaders from the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition (WPCC) are featured in a new video sharing why and how they Demand Better. For Patients. For Survival, today, World Pancreatic Cancer Day.


Featured in the video: Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA, president and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), Barbara Kenner, Founder of the Kenner Family Research Fund, Liz Feld, president of The Suzanne Wright Foundation, Kerri Kaplan, President and CEO of The Lustgarten Foundation, Cindy Gavin, Founding Executive Director of Let’s Win, and Dino Verrelli, Founder and CEO of Project Purple.

The World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition comprises more than 60 pancreatic cancer organizations and advocacy groups from around the globe in efforts to raise awareness of the world’s toughest cancer.

The World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition oversees World Pancreatic Cancer Day, which is observed around the globe each November during Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. This one-day event aims to raise critical global awareness of the disease and inspire people to take action.

Currently, there is no screening test or early detection method for pancreatic cancer. Though research is being conducted to help in these areas, knowing the symptoms and risks remains the key to early diagnosis.

More than 53,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year. That equates to 145 mothers, fathers, daughters, sons and friends that will receive the unfortunate news today alone. The disease has a five-year survival rate of just 9 percent, the lowest survival rate among all major cancers in America.

Learn how you can Demand Better today by visiting worldpancreaticcancerday.org. Follow the WPCC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Swiss Self-Help Organization Pancreatic Diseases

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Anna-Barbara Sterchi of Swiss Self-Help Organization Pancreatic Diseases presents at SSP assembly in 2017.

The SSP Schweizer Selbsthilfeorganisation Pankreaserkrankungen (Swiss Self-Help Organization Pancreatic Diseases) was founded in 1998 by Conrad Rytz to provide medical information concerning pancreatic diseases and the available therapies. At this time, the SSP published a brochure in collaboration with the University Hospital of Berne (InselSpital) for patients and organized information events at various hospitals. A decade later, unfortunately, the group of active members had diminished considerably and the SSP became silent.

In 2012, Daniela Meier contacted Conrad Rytz with the idea to re-launch the organization, and he was able to bring on Anna-Barbara Sterchi (head of nutrition counselling of InselSpital and member of the SSP-advisory board) and René Huber for the project. This project group initiated an online survey in order to collect the information needs of people affected by a pancreatic disease, as well as create a new website and the SSP-logo. In the past three years, the project group gained new members, who then elected the new executive board.

This new board shifted the focus to empowering patients to get access to suitable resources that would improve their health-related quality of life. The main platform for self-empowerment is the website www.pancreas-help.ch. Another resource is provided by the local self-help groups. Here, people affected support each other by sharing their knowledge and experience, thus strengthening their autonomy as well as their competence. On World Pancreatic Cancer Day on Nov. 16, 2017, the SSP will also organize a cooking event in Switzerland’s capital, Berne.

“As a volunteer organization,” said Meier, who serves as SSP president, “the SSP relies on funding and would be grateful to the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition for help in opening doors to international companies based in Switzerland offering sponsorship. In addition, WPCC templates for posters that would allow Swiss figures and languages to be fitted in would be appreciated.”