Pancreatic cancer has not had the research that other cancers have had yet is the fifth most common cause of cancer death in the UK. The five year survival rate in the UK is just 5%, the lowest survival rate of all the 21 common cancers. Research has allowed other cancers to be treated early and effectively, giving sufferers much better survival rates and quality of life. We have just lost a close work colleague my age to this cancer and have another, younger colleague, who faces a tough course of treatment and an uncertain outcome – it is heartbreaking. One feels so helpless... but if more funding helps find effective, early treatments and eventually a cure for this hidden killer, then I want to do something to help.