PanKind unites the nation with their flagship Put Your Foot Down walks in 7 cities across Australia

Avner Nahmani and his wife Caroline established the Foundation in 2007 after Avner was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer. Caroline, their close friends, and a group of passionate volunteers set about to reach an almost impossible dream of raising $1 million for medical research, which they did in just 2 years. The Foundation changed its name to PanKind, The Australian Pancreatic Cancer Foundation in 2020, but the vision of the founders remains at the heart of our organisation to this day.

PanKind’s main areas of focus are:

Funding research:  Thanks to the incredible efforts of so many corporate, community and other supporters, $7.6 million has been invested into pancreatic cancer research across 28 high-calibre research projects at universities and institutions, funding some of Australia’s top research talent. Their independent Scientific Advisory Panel is made up of globally recognised scientific and medical experts who are responsible for assessing our research investments.

Advocacy: PanKind launched a national awareness campaign with the Cancer of our Generation report, educating the Australian public on pancreatic cancer statistics, reaching almost 1 million Australians with key information. They are the voice of the people, working collaboratively with organisations and the government, advocating for the best possible outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients and their families.

Support for patients: PanKind works to support people impacted by pancreatic cancer by publishing useful information, creating resources and connecting people to valuable services and a community of others who share experiences of living with pancreatic cancer.

PanKind is working on…

A focus on Collaborative research:  They will be funding $600,000 in Collaborative Research Grants in 2021 which will provide funding to Australian researchers to participate in collaborative research projects. The grant encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration, between pancreatic cancer research groups and other specialities, for example, immunotherapy, nanotechnology, genomics and bioinformatics. As part of their robust process in awarding grant funding, applications will be assessed by our internationally recognised Scientific Advisory Panel.

Government advocacy
PanKind hosted a historic event at Parliament House in Canberra uniting policymakers, medical professionals, patients, and supporters to hear Federal Health Minister, the Hon. Greg Hunt MP, announce the first National Pancreatic Cancer Roadmap.  PanKind Board Director, Professor Chris Baggoley and CEO, Michelle Stewart, have joined the official Steering Group for the national project.

Patient education
Through our National Patient and Carer Hub, PanKind is connecting patients and carers to credible information, support, resources, available trials, and pancreatic cancer experts across Australia. This includes the recent launch of both a comprehensive Patient & Carer Booklet to assist people living with the disease and our EmpowerED webinar series.

National awareness

Through their national footprint, we raise awareness across Australia to help bring a sharper focus and more attention to pancreatic cancer.

PanKind is committed to seeing transformational change for people affected by pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is not a local problem, it is a global problem. No organisation will be able to achieve this change alone and they are pleased to work with like-minded organisations from across the globe. Together our activities will be amplified, and by sharing best practices, we can accelerate change.

PanKind is open to collaborating with WPCC members on initiatives that can improve survival for people affected by pancreatic cancer to scale and accelerate progress. They are committed to amplifying the WPCC advocacy message in November and feel that this internationally coordinated approach and alignment of messaging leads to a greater “cut through” each year.