Government committed to tackling pancreatic cancer

Health minister Shona Robison told the Reformer the Scottish Government was committed to tackling pancreatic cancer after we told her Debbie’s story.

Pancreatic cancer was at the centre of a recently announced £4million investment in precision medicine.

Ms Robison said:“We know that research is important to improving cancer survival rates in Scotland and that is why we have made available co-funding of £150,000 for Pancreatic Cancer UK’s Research Innovation Fund.

“Additional funding has been leveraged in, notably from Pancreatic Cancer Scotland, meaning that there is currently a pot of around £400,000 available for pancreatic cancer research in Scotland. This vital research should help to improve our understanding of this specific type of cancer which is so often difficult to diagnose early.

“In addition, we have invested £39 million in our Detect Cancer Early programme since 2012 with a target of increasing the number of cancers detected at the early stage of disease. Our hope is campaigns like this will result in earlier presentation, referral and assessment for all those with a possibility of cancer.

“We will be publishing a new Cancer Strategy very soon. This will set out ambitions and actions and include further investment to look to improve survival from cancer in Scotland.”