About
The Plum Layton Charitable Trust was set up in 2011 predominantly to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research.
All proceeds go to charity.
The fund is supporting the work being done at the Hammersmith Hospital and Imperial College under Dr Harpreet Wasan.
Thus far, over £400,000 has been raised and has enabled the Hammersmith to set up a specific unit to investigate why pancreatic cancer does not respond to traditional treatments.
Pancreatic cancer kills 7,000 people in the UK every year and, to the vast majority, it is a death sentence.
The one chance of recovery is if the doctors are able to operate but this is only possible in 10%-20% of cases.
Even then, 80%-90% of these patients will relapse and die within 5 years.
New cases of pancreatic cancer, 2015, UK
Survive pancreatic cancer 10+ years, 2010-11, England & Wales
Deaths from pancreatic cancer, 2016, UK
Preventable cases of pancreatic cancer, UK
Research into pancreatic cancer is desperately needed.
Over the last decade doctors have hit a brickwall as no new treatments have improved patients overall survival.
Indeed doctors are still using the same treatment that was established 13 years ago.
Pancreatic cancer has now moved into the bottom of the league tables in terms of progress in treating individual cancers.
This fact is even more shocking as only 1% of cancer research has ultimately focused on the pancreas.
