The Gastrointestinal Society is a Canadian registered charity that has roots in its partner organization, the Canadian Society of Intestinal Research (CSIR), founded in 1976 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Our organizations work together providing patient information on a variety of topics from gum to bum at www.badgut.org. Gail Attara has been in the chief executive officer role since 1996.

Together, the GI Society and the CSIR are leaders in evidence-based and accessible information on gastrointestinal (GI) and liver diseases and disorders, including cancers in the digestive system (esophageal, stomach, small intestine, pancreatic, and colorectal).

All our programs and services focus on providing trusted, medically-sound information on digestive and liver health in both English and French. This includes our quarterly Inside Tract® newsletter, printed pamphlets on more than 30 topics, educational videos, and our websites in English and French. We are supporting individuals with the information they require to better understand and manage their specific health needs. We also work closely with healthcare professionals and governments at all levels toward system-wide improvements in care and treatment, this includes health technology assessment in Canada and internationally. We believe that all patients deserve affordable access to appropriate healthcare and medication, no matter where they live.

A recent issue of our Inside Tract® newsletter includes an overview of pancreatic cancer and the recent approval from Canada’s health technology assessment body for a new treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer. You can view the article on our website at https://badgut.org/information-centre/a-z-digestive-topics/treatment-of-advanced-pancreatic-cancer/.

We are excited to work with WPCC and take part in World Pancreatic Cancer Day each year. With the support of WPCC and members, we hope to make advancements in awareness, education, and research in early diagnosing tools for pancreatic cancer so that patients receive a timely diagnosis and live a better and longer quality of life.

Purple Pansies team during their 2020 virtual gala event that raised over $1.2 million. Their motto for the gala was, “Cancer Doesn’t Stop and Neither Do We.”

Purple Pansies was founded in 2009 following the death of Maria Fundora’s mother from pancreatic cancer. When Maria’s mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer and died three months later, Maria felt called to raise awareness and crucial research funding for this chronically underfunded but deadly disease. She chose the name Purple Pansies because she thought, “What grows in the winter and survives always? Pansies — they have the DNA to survive tough conditions.” Purple Pansies became a 501c3 organization in 2017 and are a volunteer organization.

Purple Pansies is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of individuals and families fighting pancreatic cancer through humanitarian assistance and research funding. The funds they raise are used for research, clinical trials, early detection, and to aide families in our community who have a family member suffering from pancreatic cancer and can financially use their help.

Since March, Purple Pansies has been helping other nonprofits and frontline heroes during COVID-19. They have helped deliver over 1,000 meals to hospitals, Kroger grocery stores, survivors of pancreatic cancer, and Safehouse Outreach in Atlanta. They also partnered with Operation Smile and local high school students to deliver meals to hospitals of their choice.

Purple Pansies, like most nonprofits, had to switch their annual gala from an in-person event to a virtual event, but their motto was, “Cancer Doesn’t Stop and Neither Do We.” With the help of many wonderful and generous donors, corporate partners, and a donor that was willing to match any amount up to $600,000 that they raised, Purple Pansies raised over $1.2 million and are continuing their efforts and campaign through the end of December.

Purple Pansies is gearing up for pancreatic cancer awareness month. Maria owns a restaurant in Alpharetta, GA, called Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant, and one day during the month she will donate a percentage of all sales to Purple Pansies. They also participate in a Giving Tuesday in December, and the entire staff of Casa Nuova is very involved with the organization and often volunteer their time during Purple Pansies events. In the next few months, they’re very excited to finalize a Purple Pansies scholarship for children of a parent or guardian that has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and needs financial help to attend school.

Purple Pansies is in the process of changing their logo so individuals and businesses know their non-profit is all about pancreatic cancer. Purple Pansies states that pancreatic cancer is the one cancer no one wants to talk about, and they feel it’s because when most people are diagnosed, it is already Stage 4 and feel hopeless. They are very supportive of the WPCC’s efforts to continue awareness education around knowing the risks and symptoms of pancreatic cancer. They’re excited to hopefully attend the WPCC conference next year and be more involved with the organization.

Israeli team running to defeat Pancreatic Cancer.

The Israeli Association for Pancreatic Cancer is a non-profit organization. The association was founded in August 2019, by a group of volunteers who have been exposed to pancreatic cancer, in various ways. Among them are family members of past and present patients – all mobilized to work together for a common goal. The team at LoveLove has dedicated their time and energy working for the community of pancreatic cancer patients and their families. The organization is part of the international community for the fight against pancreatic cancer, WPCC.

The goals of the association:

• Increasing awareness of the disease and symptoms among the Israeli public.
• Access to reliable information in Hebrew about the disease, treatment methods and innovations in the field.
• Providing support, guidance and assistance to patients and families.
• Raising donations for the fight against pancreatic cancer in Israel.

The Oltre la Ricerca Team

Oltre la ricerca is a non profit organization founded in Rimini (northern Italy) in 2012 by Francesca Gabellini, after the loss of her husband Luca, affected by pancreatic cancer. Luca was 42 years old when he passed away, leaving a 6 month old son. Francesca experienced many issues during Lusa’s illness and she is now determined to turn on the light for pancreatic cancer patients.

We are a charity that creates a bridge between pancreatic cancer patients and institutions, hospitals, general practitioners, dietitians, psychologists and surgeons. It has been shown in other cancers that increasing awareness of the disease can have a very strong impact on the ability to manage the illness.

Oltre la ricerca is proud of our volunteers that actively share good practice, proper life style (such as healthy diet and fiscal activity), early detection strategies and cooperation between hospitals and territory in order to support pancreatic cancer’s family. Our fundraising is based on show cooking and local markets

Oltre la ricerca’s main objectives are to:

• Provide nutritional support and recipes Encourage an open dialogue between general practitioners, surgeons, oncologists and patients
• Provide grants for case manager nurses and/or dietitians

Oltre la ricerca proudly belongs to World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition because sharing information under international cooperation is the right way to win the battle. The more in contact we are, the faster we can obtain significant results for patients. This is our hope and our desire, we need to open our minds and trust each other.

The Board of ELLOK and representatives of its member organizations met with the President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopios Pavlopoulos.

Hellenic Cancer Federation — ELLOK is an “umbrella” organization established in 2016 aiming to unite patients, their caregivers, healthcare professionals, cancer hospitals, politicians, the media and the public, towards the improvement of cancer care, cancer prevention, cancer survivorship, rehabilitation and reintegration of cancer patients into social life and work.

Today, ELLOK represents 38 cancer patient organisations covering all cancers, common and rare, from all over Greece. It is the powerful & documented voice of cancer patients and survivors. The vision of ELLOK is for integrated, timely and affordable cancer and health care for all cancer patients, striving for excellent diagnosis, treatment, psycho-social support, rehabilitation and reintegration. ELLOK’s mission is to join forces with all cancer patients, volunteers and friends to advocate for the individual and collective rights of cancer patients, their caregivers and their family, for the improvement of cancer and health care and for increased funding for cancer research.

According to Globocan 2018, the estimated number of new pancreatic cancer cases in Greece was 2175 and 2031 of them will not survive. Since 2014, ELLOK, member of the ΕCPC-European Cancer Patient Coalition, actively participates in Pancreatic Cancer Europe, the European Multi-Stakeholder Platform on Pancreatic Cancer and the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition. There is no dedicated pancreatic patient support group in Greece and ELLOK aims to raise pancreatic cancer awareness of the general public, the general practitioners for the early referral of patients and of the politicians for supporting early detection and research. ELLOK translated informative material/infographics in Greek and supports its members in relevant campaigns throughout the country.