New grant to fight Pancreatic Cancer
The Centenary Institute, which is strongly affiliated with the University of Sydney, is honoured to announce Professor Jenny Gamble as a recipient of a 2015 Avner Pancreatic Cancer Foundation Accelerator Grant. This funding is for the purpose of supporting Professor Gamble’s vital research around the environment in which the tumour needs to grow and the development of new therapies for pancreatic cancer in an effort to increase survival rates.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most under-recognised forms of cancer, which poses as a great concern for the future population of Australia. In 2012, pancreatic cancer accounted for over 5% of all cancer deaths in Australia. Due to the disease being relatively asymptomatic (i.e., no obvious symptoms), there is an extremely low survival rate as is often only diagnosed in its advanced stages.
The Avner Pancreatic Cancer Foundation is 100% focussed on making survival possible through their work in awareness, fundraising and research. Their stated aim is to double survival rate by 2020. Given the tremendous progress in improving survival rates in other cancers through sustained investment in research, it is critical that Pancreatic Cancer, often referred to a cancer’s underdog, receives the focused support that the Avner Foundation has provided through it’s grant to the Centenary Institute and Professor Jenny Gamble’s work.