Escaping the concrete canyons of Croydon recently, we took a short break in the Sussex town of Worthing. (Which has been compared to Nice in Provence ; but only by people who have never been to Nice). While strolling along the Promenade at Worthing, we ran into a group, mainly comprising ladies, who were dressed in a variety of outre costume, including those of Pink Panthers and Star Wars Galactic Warriors. It turned out to be one of those happy occasions when we learned, not something new, but when something which we were dimly aware of was moved sharply up our agenda . For they were campaigning to gather money for the rising disease of Pancreatic Cancer. [1] And this is what we learned (overseas readers- we bet the UK is pretty representative of your jurisdiction too)
The pancreas is a vital organ, standing at the crossroads of both your digestive and endocrine system. So getting cancer in it is a pretty bad state of affairs. There are several types of this cancer. But last year, overall, saw 10 500 new cases in the UK. Actually, its among the 10 most common forms of cancer in these islands. The risk factors? You guessed it. Being overweight., smoking and diabetes are among the highest. All the features of a civilisation focussed too much on quick-fix marketing, and not enough on quality of life. If you want to drill down, here’s another link from the Charity Pancreatic Cancer UK. [2]
So these ladies, and the charity which they represent means that, even if your family is struck with this terrible affliction, you will not be alone. And, as we parted from the ladies, we closed on a moment of hope. For Pancreatic Cancer UK works closely with the other cancer charities in this country. And we agreed how useful it was to set up laboratories with ethe money raised. Who knows what other discoveries could be made with all those scientists and all that kit? Apparently these ladies intend to run the whole of the seafront down there, and back again. Good luck to them, we say. And thanks.
#pancreatic cancer #cancer #research #health #medicine #charity
Learning, Science and Society 