I really expected that the sad death of Steve Jobs would have raised the profile of pancreatic cancer and publicised the need for more money for more research in order to get some progress with this disease. There is a desperate need for a cure and for earlier diagnosis.
But in the acres of newsprint and the terabytes of cyberspace devoted to him, I have seen little mention of the illness. And I have seen no mention of any of what must be his vast fortune being diverted to help conquer the serial killer that ended his life too soon - maybe that is in the pipeline.
Of course all other cancers need attention - and I speak as someone who has recently lost a younger brother to brain tumour and who has seen a daughter, in this same year, have to fight cancer of the thyroid. But with most cancers, including those two, there has been immense progress over the years. With pancreatic cancer there has been no improvement in survival rates during the past 40 years.
What can we do? We can continue to help raise funds and awareness. Once again I will be sending no Christmas cards this year but will be placing the equivalent money into my JustGiving account which feeds directly to pancreatic cancer research. I will continue to publicise my book, all proceeds of which go direct to pancreatic cancer research. And I will continue to ask readers of this blog to do the same - you can make a donation via the blue JustGiving button on this page or you can buy the book via the "How to find ..." button on this page. I would also ask you to email, Facebook, Tweet, and use other social media to invite your friends to do any or all of the above.
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