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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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Click here to read.
A team of researchers from the UK and US have found that pancreatic cancer is able to shut down molecules in one of the body’s most important genes, helping the disease to grow and spread rapidly.
Pancreatic cancer is the 12th most common cancer worldwide, with more than half a million people diagnosed every year. It has the worst survival rates of all the most common forms of the disease.
Click here to read more.
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 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.
Facts about Pancreatic Cancer
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.
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African Americans are woefully under-represented in surgical oncology and clinical trials for pancreatic cancer therapies.