November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month
and there is promising news
Committed to Equity in Access, Diagnosis, and Treatment
The Charles McKinley Reynolds, Jr., Pancreatic Cancer Initiative supports and facilitates research, education, treatment, and patient advocacy for pancreatic cancer, a disease that accounts for 3% of all cancers and 7% of all cancer deaths in the United States. Our work focuses on African American patients, whose conditions are often dismissed or devalued by medical professionals because of long-held biases and misunderstanding. The research and clinical trials we support will factor in this phenomenon and other cultural dynamics that affect both how pain therapies are developed and administered and their availability and effectiveness among African Americans.
Read this collection of articles about advances in the quest for a cure,
more effective treatments and even prevention.
Featured Resources
A Washington Informer writer reveals the touching backstory that led to the creation of this Initiative and its role in the continuing quest for a cure.
Two prominent physicians discuss the challenges faced by African American pancreatic cancer patients and what the medical community and patients themselves can do to improve research, diagnosis, treatment, and pain management.
Click here for “Until There Is A Cure.”
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Pancreatic cancer patients remained cancer-free for more than three years after receiving an experimental mRNA vaccine in a small clinical trial. Researchers say the vaccine could prevent pancreatic cancer from ever returning.
Whom We Serve
This Initiative provides timely resources to researchers, educators, physicians, and clinical trial participants engaged in the quest for more timely diagnoses, more effective treatments, and improved pain management for African American patients.
We encourage frequent visits to this site, as our resources and services will be regularly updated and expanded.
Key Facts
Pancreatic Cancer is the
third leading cause of
cancer deaths in the U.S.
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The incidence of pancreatic cancer among African Americans is 30 to 70 percent higher than other racial groups.
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African Americans are less likely to have early diagnosis, surgery, and timely treatment for pancreatic cancer than are other Americans.
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The mortality rate for African Americans with pancreatic cancer is 13.3 per 100,000 people compared to 11.0 per 100,000 for White Americans.
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Higher incidences of cigarette smoking, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and pancreatitis contribute to the disparate casualty rates between African Americans and other groups.