Fund A Cure Donates $33K to Pancreatic Cancer Research

Newtown-based Fund A Cure for Pancreatic Cancer this week presented a $33,000 donation check to the Pancreatic Cancer research team at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

The $33,000 was raised through the Purple Tie Ball, held on Nov. 15 in Yardley, as well as through other fundraising efforts throughout the year.

Since 2009, Fund A Cure for Pancreatic Cancer has donated $166,000 to the pancreatic cancer research team at Jefferson.

“Philanthropy makes truly transformational science possible. Despite recent advancements, pancreatic cancer remains a lethal disease with an average survival of less than one year,” said Dr. Jonathan Brody from Jefferson. “Optimization of current treatments and development of novel therapies are desperately needed and Fund A Cure’s dollars have been dedicated to supporting innovating research projects. Thomas Jefferson University is grateful for the generous support received from Fund A Cure for Pancreatic Cancer.”

According to information from Fund A Cure, pancreatic cancer is soon slated to pass breast cancer in terms of yearly deaths by cancer in the United States with an estimated 40,000 deaths in 2014 and has one of the lowest 5 year survival rates at only 6 percent.

“By 2020 it is estimated that pancreatic cancer will become the second leading cause of death by cancer in the United States. Unfortunately, research funding from the federal government has not increased and other much less deadly diseases receive upwards of 30 times the funding,” the nonprofit said in a statement.

Chairman of Fund A Cure for Pancreatic Cancer Robert Ciervo said he hopes elected leaders in Washington, DC increase funding for pancreatic cancer research. “It is unconscionable to many of us that the National Cancer Institute, which has a nearly $5 billion budget, only allocates less than 2 percent of its funding towards pancreatic cancer research, when pancreatic cancer, with only a 1 percent long-term survival rate, is the deadliest cancer known to man.”