Chamberlain supports constituent’s pancreatic cancer petition

Wendy Chamberlain, MP for North East Fife, has joined constituents to deliver a petition to Downing Street urging the government to fund vital research into pancreatic cancer early detection.

Wendy Chamberlain MP joined Isla Gear and her nephew Max and Alfie Bailey-Bearfield, head of Campaigns, Health Improvement, and Policy at Pancreatic Cancer UK at 10 Downing Street to present their petition, which has now garnered over 200,000 signatures online, as well as an open letter from Pancreatic Cancer UK which has almost 71,000 signatures. The letter urges the Government to invest in rolling out new tests to detect pancreatic cancer earlier. Chamberlain later presented a version of the petition in the House of Commons.

Isla began the petition after her brother tragically passed away four weeks after receiving a stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis. His last wish was for the NHS to start targeted pancreatic cancer screening so everyone in the UK who has the symptoms or is at risk of developing pancreatic cancer is diagnosed early and doesn’t miss out on life saving treatment.  

Isla Gear, who organised the petition and is a North East Fife constituent, said:

“The widespread support for this petition shows how important early detection for pancreatic cancer is. I hope that from this, we can save someone’s life in honour of what Tam wanted.

“Tam thought he would beat the statistic, and he was very hopeful, he said ‘If anything comes from this, the one thing I want is to stop it from happening to other families’.

“It has been great having Wendy’s support in amplifying the petition in UK Parliament, and I hope that we see real change as a result.”

Diana Jupp, CEO of Pancreatic Cancer UK, said:

“We are honoured to be uniting with Isla and Max as part of our Unite. Diagnose. Save Live. Campaign, demanding early detection of pancreatic cancer. As it stands, diagnosing the disease in time to save people is a huge challenge for GPs. Vital early detection tests are still missing because research has been severely underfunded for decades by successive governments.

“Shockingly, Tam’s experience is not uncommon. While strides have been made for other cancers, people with pancreatic cancer are too often left with only hope to hold on to. We have united with Isla and Tam’s family to demand governments do more because change is possible.

“The progress made in the last five years is more than in the last 50 combined. UK governments must keep up this momentum with more action, more investment, and more attention for the deadliest common cancer. It’s long overdue that we Unite, Diagnose, and Save Lives.”

Wendy Chamberlain MP commented:

"I'm proud to support Isla and Max's petition and to present it in Parliament on their behalf. The sheer number of signatures they've collected is remarkable and it’s a powerful testament to the widespread support for early detection.

“We must continue to push the Government to invest in the crucial research needed to advance early detection tests. This work has the potential to save countless lives, and it cannot wait."