During our West Coast Road Trip Peter Kapitein, Piarella Peralta and me visited the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network PanCAN: http://www.worldpancreaticcancercoalition.org/) office in Los Angeles. This organization is dedicated to fight pancreatic cancer, being one of the world’s thoughest cancers. Like I2L PanCAN attacks the disease on all fronts: research, clinical initiatives, patient services and advocacy. Their goal is to double survival by 2020!

Some numbers: They do a great job in fundraising and funding research. Nearly $4.5 million were awarded via seven new competitive research grants and extensions for five previously-awarded research grants in 2018. They have also invested in their “Know your Tumor” precision medicine service, publishing a scientific paper that indicated that patients whose treatments aligned with their molecular profile had better outcomes.

We talked about our initiative to get whole genome sequencing for every single pancreatic cancer patient and to include pancreatic cancer in the “DRUP” protocol to give patients access to medicine that are already registered but for other cancers than pancreatic cancer. Our Patient Advocate Henk van Kranen is involved in this initiative.

Next to the research area of PanCAN we also connected our Patient Advocate Jolanda Glas who is a member of the Living With Hope Foundation with their organization.

Altogether we found ourselves new strategic partners with whom to work.

Ilona Schelle, Patient Advocate Inspire2Live