17 years ago my mother, aged 52, was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer. 6 weeks later she was dead. Pancreatic cancer is a disease in which cancerous cells form in the tissues of the pancreas which produces digestive juices and hormones that regulate blood sugar. Pancreatic cancer has the worst survival rates of any of the 21 most common cancers, with fewer than 4% of patients surviving for five years or longer following diagnosis. The disease is set to overtake breast cancer as the 4th most common cancer killer by 2030.

On Saturday 26th September 2020, myself and a team of 10 will be embarking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge with a goal to complete it in 24 hours and raise £350,000 for Pancreatic Cancer UK. For anyone, a diagnosis of cancer is a difficult and life changing moment. For people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, it is especially devastating. 1 in 4 people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will lose their lives within one month.

Our goal of £350,000 will take PCUK one-step closer to finding desperately needed treatments for pancreatic cancer, by funding Pancreatic Cancer UK’s Grand Challenge, to harness the exciting potential of immunotherapy to extend the lives of people facing pancreatic cancer. Immunotherapy is a ground-breaking new treatment that could change everything, working by unlocking the power of the body’s immune system to fight and destroy cancer cells. There are very few treatment options for pancreatic cancer, so if we’re able to see the same results that early trials have shown with blood and breast cancer, this project could revolutionise how doctors approach the disease.
The research team, led by world-leading pancreatic cancer researcher Professor Nick Lemoine and based at one of the top cancer research centres in the UK, will build upon the promising findings in virus and CAR-T cell engineering with the ultimate aim of taking a new combined therapy to clinical trials in the near future. Importantly, we hope the funds we raise will fuel the next phase of research innovation to develop further life- saving treatments for patients with pancreatic cancer, and be ready for a Phase 1 clinical trial in the coming years.

Jonathan is a member of the Development Board of Pancreatic UK. They campaign and fundraise for a game changing annual UK/EMEA pancreatic cancer research funding pot of £25 million by 2022. This will include a significant investment of £10 million from Pancreatic Cancer UK over the next five years. The charity receives no money from the Government, so through fundraising it is committed to doubling the five-year survival rates and believes that this level of research will begin to transform the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.