November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, EuropaColon Poland Foundation reminds us. It is a time when efforts are made to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer in the media and, through them, among the general public, patients and doctors. On November 16, to mark World Pancreatic Cancer Day, buildings around the world are lit up purple. The Foundation encourages you to take part in this action.
We are raising awareness of pancreatic cancer. Buildings will light up purple
Published Nov. 3, 2023 10:42
fot. EuropaColon Polska
"Is there anyone among you who would like to support our activities and help light up more cities and more facilities in them. The activities are voluntary. From us you will receive a letter of intent with a request from the EuropaColon Poland Foundation and you can act. All over the world, well-known and lesser-known objects are lit up on this day," reads a post on the EuropaColon Poland Foundation's social media profile.
Data available to the Medical Research Agency shows that pancreatic cancer is among the cancers with the highest mortality rate - the 5-year survival rate is only 6-7 percent in Poland, and only 25 percent of patients survive one year from diagnosis. These statistics have not changed for years due to the difficulty of diagnosing the cancer in its early stages and the resistance of chemotherapy.
The National Cancer Registry, on the other hand, brings other disturbing information about the incidence of pancreatic cancer in women. It turns out that the disease affects 2.5 percent of Polish women. The journal Gastroenterology published the results of a study conducted in the US in early 2023. It turns out that pancreatic cancer in women under the age of 55 was diagnosed 2.4 percent more often than in men in the same age group.
