To our incredible community of supporters,  

After ten years of leading this organization and working with our global coalition (World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition), I must continue to be clear: a 10% survival rate for pancreatic cancer is not progress. It is a wake-up call.

For pancreatic cancer, the survival rate has barely moved in 50 years. While we have seen revolutionary progress in nearly every other cancer, this disease has been met with half a century of silence and stagnation. Fifty years is long enough.  

Driven by your commitment to progress and your refusal to accept the status quo, I am proud to bring  Pancreatic Cancer Canada into 2026 officially as Pancreatic Cancer North America (PCNA). This evolution is a testament to the momentum you have helped build, and we are entering this new year energized by your commitment and support.  I know that with big change comes important questions, but our focus remains unwavering: to fundamentally change the experience of pancreatic cancer for all affected by this disease.

Why North America? Why Now?

Pancreatic cancer knows no borders. For too long, our progress has been limited by geography, but a disease this relentless requires a response that is equally unyielding. As a founding member of the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition, it is time for us to do more than just our part in Canada—it is time to lead.  

By building a unified North American voice, we are finally matching the scale of our ambition to the scale of the crisis. We are moving beyond local efforts to disrupt the silence, forcing this disease into a global spotlight to demand the investment it has been denied for decades.  

This evolution is about speed. We are accelerating research by funding cross-border breakthroughs that bring global advancements to pancreatic cancer patients everywhere as swiftly as possible. By sharing data and resources across the continent, we ensure that a discovery made in a lab in Houston reaches a patient in Calgary faster than ever before. We are no longer waiting for progress to find us; we are going where the innovation is.

Scaling Impact: The Survival Era

We are at a turning point. We have seen transformative change for other cancers; investments in research and global collaboration have led to near 90% survival rates for cancers like breast and prostate. We know that these victories were only possible because funders, researchers, and advocates collaborated beyond their own borders. From here onwards, we are applying that same blueprint to pancreatic cancer.  

By building on the strong foundation we have built in Canada, we are now scaling our impact to meet the urgency of this disease. As PCNA, we are pushing the boundaries of what is possible for patients in Canada and beyond. Every dollar raised here is invested in the programs required to turn global innovation into local survival. We are strengthening Canadian infrastructure in precision medicine, accelerating networks of care and leveraging global partnerships to bring the world’s most advanced breakthroughs directly to Canadian patients.

Survival, Not Sympathy  

This approach is not for everyone. We have traded hopeful slogans and ribbons for urgency and honesty. We are not here for easy. We are here to turn a death sentence into a survivable disease. Thank you for standing with us as we disrupt the silence and demand a future where survival is the norm, not the exception.