Wage Hope
Wage Hope
Wage Hope
Wage Hope
Wage Hope

There are many important victories to celebrate from the past year – we’ve achieved a number of major milestones, thanks to your support. And that’s great. But we can’t stop here. There’s so much more we need to do. After all, “action” is our middle name. It’s time to Wage Hope.

For every $1 we awarded from 2003 to 2013, our grantees secured an average of $8.28 in additional pancreatic cancer research funding.

Our total research investment in FY14-15 was nearly $6.9 million – up 22% over the prior year.

We’re building a robust pancreatic cancer research community – over 95% of Pancreatic Cancer Action Network-funded researchers are staying in the field.

Additional updates from Scientific Research

  • We’ve funded 123 grants to 122 scientists at 51 institutions across the country.
  • Our 92 grantees who received awards from 2003 to 2013 authored an astounding 1,191 articles in biomedical journals.
  • Our 2003-2013 research grantees’ articles have been cited more than 13,000 times in biomedical publications.

More than 550 people attended Advocacy Day – 100 more than in the prior year.

Congress received 28,935 messages from nearly 8,000 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network advocates.

We’ve boosted National Cancer Institute funding for pancreatic cancer by 500% since starting our efforts in 1999.

Additional updates from Government Affairs

  • Thanks to our advocates’ outreach, the Senate approved a $2 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health – the largest since 2003.
  • More than 800 people made 2,263 calls and sent 22,000 “I Wage Hope” cards to Congress supporting Advocacy Day.
  • Thanks to our advocates’ messages to Congress, the Senate approved our request for $50 million as part of the Department of Defense’s Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program.
  • We defeated two amendments that would have gutted critical research programs.

We’re celebrating our 100,000th contact to Patient Central since 2002, assisting more pancreatic cancer patients and families annually than any single institution in the world.

We launched our Know Your TumorSM personalized medicine service and enrolled 350 patients, providing them with more information to make informed decisions.

Clinical trial searches have increased by 82% over the last three years, thanks in part to the launch of our online Clinical Trial Finder this year.

Additional updates from Patient Services

  • 86% of patients and caregivers said they felt better prepared to cope with the disease after speaking with a Patient Central Associate.
  • Patient Central (formerly called “PALS”) served more than 11,000 contacts over the last year.
  • The average quality assurance score of our Patient Central Associates was 97%.
  • 93% of our respondents told us they felt more knowledgeable after speaking with a Patient Central Associate.

Volunteers gave over 134,000 hours of their time to our cause.

Corporate and community teams raised more than $10.4 million – up 13% over the prior year.

PurpleStride events raised $12.7 million net – up 13.2% over the prior year.

Additional updates from Community Outreach

  • PurpleStride sponsors contributed approximately $1.5 million in support – up 37% over the prior year. We also welcomed our first national sponsors – Celgene and AbbVie.
  • Do-it-yourself fundraising events yielded a total of nearly $1.3 million.
  • 101,367 people attended signature events such as PurpleStride.
  • Volunteers across the country shared their stories and generated nearly 1,717 media hits – an increase of 18% over the prior year.

Our accomplishments demonstrate that we’re making progress toward our goal of doubling survival by 2020. But there are still challenges we must overcome to ensure that we keep forging ahead. We have an aggressive plan to combat these challenges with even greater urgency.

The Road To
2020

CHALLENGE ONE

There aren’t enough researchers and resources. The brightest minds are attracted to difficult challenges, but they need money to develop innovative solutions. We will continue to ensure that pancreatic cancer research receives increased private and federal funding.

CHALLENGE TWO

The clinical trial enrollment rate is too low. Only 4.5% of pancreatic cancer patients enroll in clinical trials, slowing progress toward new diagnostic tools and treatments. We will work to increase the clinical trial enrollment rate by continuing to inform patients about their options.

CHALLENGE THREE

Trials don’t match what patients need. Clinical research doesn’t take into account the heterogeneity of pancreatic cancer patients and their tumors. We promote running “smart” clinical trials by providing information through our innovative services like Know Your TumorSM, and driving clinical trials that are based on the needs of real patients.

CHALLENGE FOUR

Some 80% of patients are treated by physicians who may only see a few pancreatic cancer patients a year. We will identify and share best practices in care and treatment with physicians and other healthcare professionals across the country.

CHALLENGE FIVE

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, yet not enough people are taking action to change it. We’ll continue to heighten public awareness and visibility by growing our strong volunteer network that raises awareness and support.

CHALLENGE ONE

There aren’t enough researchers and resources. The brightest minds are attracted to difficult challenges, but they need money to develop innovative solutions. We will continue to ensure that pancreatic cancer research receives increased private and federal funding.

CHALLENGE THREE

Trials don’t match what patients need. Clinical research doesn’t take into account the heterogeneity of pancreatic cancer patients and their tumors. We promote running “smart” clinical trials by providing information through our innovative services like Know Your TumorSM, and driving clinical trials that are based on the needs of real patients.

CHALLENGE FIVE

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, yet not enough people are taking action to change it. We’ll continue to heighten public awareness and visibility by growing our strong volunteer network that raises awareness and support.

CHALLENGE TWO

The clinical trial enrollment rate is too low. Only 4.5% of pancreatic cancer patients enroll in clinical trials, slowing progress toward new diagnostic tools and treatments. We will work to increase the clinical trial enrollment rate by continuing to inform patients about their options.

CHALLENGE FOUR

Some 80% of patients are treated by physicians who may only see a few pancreatic cancer patients a year. We will identify and share best practices in care and treatment with physicians and other healthcare professionals across the country.

We’re making real progress, thanks to you.

  • ~100% increase in median overall survival from Phase III clinical trials since 1999.
  • ~500% increase in National Cancer Institute funding for pancreatic cancer since 1999.
  • ~500% increase in the number of National Cancer Institute-funded investigators studying pancreatic cancer since 1999.
  • ~400% increase in the number of annual peer-reviewed pancreatic cancer publications since 1999.
  • ~600% increase in Patient Central contacts since the program started in 2002.
  • ~300% increase in PurpleStride participants since 2009.

PANCREATIC CANCER ACTION NETWORK
2014-2015 FINANCIAL POSITION


  • Revenue by Source 2015

  • 58% Individual Giving
  • 35% Volunteer-Driven Events
  • 7% Corporate Giving
  • 0% Investments and Other

  • Cost Distribution 2015

  • 37% Research
  • 26% Community Outreach
  • 14% Patient Services
  • 10% Fundraising
  • 8% Advocacy
  • 5% General & Administrative

  • Revenue by Source 2014

  • 51% Volunteer-Driven Events
  • 33% Individual Giving
  • 9% Corporate Giving
  • 4% Investments and Other
  • 3% An Evening with the Stars

  • Cost Distribution 2014

  • 36% Research
  • 26% Community Outreach
  • 14% Patient Services
  • 10% Fundraising
  • 9% Advocacy
  • 5% General & Administrative

With deepest gratitude to everyone who made an investment in the future of pancreatic cancer patients this past year.

We were especially honored to receive the largest gift in our history – an extraordinary $15 million donation to honor the memory of visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist Skip Viragh, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2003. This generous gift supports our $200 million five-year fundraising goal that will help us accelerate progress.