Committed to Ensuring that Pain Is Not a Part of the Journey
The Charles McKinley Reynolds, Jr., Pancreatic Cancer Pain Management Initiative supports and facilitates research, education, treatment, and advocacy for the improved management of pain associated with pancreatic cancer. The disease accounts for 3% of all cancers and 7% of all cancer deaths in the United States.
Our work focuses on African American patients, whose pain is 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 how African Americans receive them.
New & Featured
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.
Moderated by Initiative President and CEO Reesa Motley Reynolds, the discussion features Dr. Victoria Thornton and Dr. Charles Simmons.
Click here for this first installation of “Until There Is A Cure.”
Researchers have discovered a link between higher insulin levels and pancreatic cancer. In the U.S., African Americans have the highest incidences of Type 2 diabetes with its elevated insulin levels, and obesity, which often leads to Type 2 diabetes.
Click here to read.
The Need is Real
Whom We Serve
This Initiative provides timely resources to researchers, educators, physicians, and clinical trial participants engaged in the quest for better treatments and approaches to managing the pain associated with pancreatic cancer, especially among African American patients. We encourage frequent visits to this site, as our resources and services will be regularly updated and expanded.
Facts about Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S.
-
The incidence of pancreatic cancer among African Americans is 30 to 70 percent higher than other racial groups.
-
African Americans are less likely to have early diagnosis, surgery, and timely treatment for pancreatic cancer than are other Americans.
-
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.
-
Higher incidences of cigarette smoking, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and pancreatitis contribute to the disparate casualty rates between African Americans and other groups.
-
African Americans are woefully under-represented in surgical oncology and clinical trials for pancreatic cancer therapies.