Pancreatic Cancer Action Network researchers to participate in Rally for Medical Research

Researchers and advocates from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network will join nearly 200 national organizations today in demonstrating their concern about the impact of sequestration on cancer research during the Rally for Medical Research at 11 AM on the steps of the Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is a sponsor of the Rally for Medical Research which will unite millions of Americans across the country to call on our nation's policymakers to ensure lifesaving medical research funding is a national priority and end the sequestration cuts, which took effect on March 1, 2013.  This unified call to action will raise awareness about the critical need for a sustained investment in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to improve health, spur more progress, inspire more hope and save more lives.

Sequestration slashed the NIH budget by 5.1 percent or approximately $1.5 billion, including a reduction totaling more than $250 million in cancer research funding in FY 2013 alone.  The fight against cancer will be dealt a major setback by these cuts.  For the nation's deadliest cancers, such as pancreatic cancer, where the need for scientific advances is so great, the effects of sequestration could be extremely detrimental.

"Budget cuts to the National Institutes of Health will have a long-lasting and devastating impact on cancer research and we are deeply concerned about the impact on pancreatic cancer, which currently has a five year survival rate of just six percent," said Julie Fleshman , president and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.  "Pancreatic cancer is anticipated to move from the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States to the second leading cause of cancer death by the year 2020, or as early as 2015.  We cannot afford to stall the efforts underway to develop early detection methods and more effective treatment options that will lead to better outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients."