Pancreatic Cancer Ireland was founded in September 2022 by Rachel Duquesnois shortly after losing her wonderful mother, Martina Dunne, to pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately this was not the first time the family was impacted, with two other relatives previously passing away due to pancreatic cancer. Having experienced the devastating impact of this disease as well as learning about how little progress in survival rates has been made in the past decades, Rachel was motivated to be an active participant in making change happen.
They have four main goals:
- Peer Support
- Raising Awareness
- Advocacy
- Fundraising
In their first year they have been busy in establishing a supportive space for pancreatic cancer patients to connect, developing their social media platforms and meeting with relevant professionals to gain better insight to how they can collaborate in advocating for change in Ireland.
Ongoing Projects
Currently, they are looking forward to collaborating with the WPCC with World Pancreatic Cancer Day arriving in two months. They are also working on the final details of their very first awareness and fundraising campaign. Keeping up to date on developments that are happening internationally is a key tool in advocating for increased funding for service provision and research. They will be attending the upcoming AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer.
With their first year of learning and developing almost behind them, they are extremely excited about pushing forward towards reaching their goals and taking on an active role in improving outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients and their families.
To learn more about National Pancreatic cancer Foundation, visit their Member Page
