We're bringing more support

We’ve been working behind the scenes to support even more people affected by pancreatic cancer. Over the past year, we’ve heard from more than 200 people about what you need when you’re living with pancreatic cancer or supporting someone with the disease.

Using these insights, we’ve looked at the services we offer and started trialing some pilots delivering new ways of offering support.

Here are a few of the new ways we’re bringing more support

When we were speaking to people affected by pancreatic cancer, one of the things that came up most was the need to have a community. Because sometimes, you need people who ‘just get it’.

As a result, we’re trialing Circles, a place for people with pancreatic cancer and their loved ones to share in the highs, the lows, and everything in between, run via groups on WhatsApp and Facebook. This will allow people to connect, share and find support in groups covering a wide range of topics.

Responses to Circles have been really positive so far, with some brilliant connections being made on WhatsApp:

Support Line via WhatsApp

We know our Support Line has been a real lifeline for people with pancreatic cancer and their loved ones. Our Support Line nurses are specialists in pancreatic cancer, with over 100 years of experience combined. However, from speaking to our community, we know that picking up the phone to talk to someone isn’t an option for everyone. We’re testing offering our Support Line via WhatsApp to give people more control over how they can receive support.

People contacting us via WhatsApp will receive the same level of expertise as they would over the phone, but using WhatsApp will allow people to send questions as and when they think of them and enter short, quick conversations at a time that suits them.

People who have been involved in the pilot have commented how helpful it is being able to contact a nurse via WhatsApp, receiving the information they were looking for promptly without having to pick up the phone to speak.

Real life stories

We understand how lonely it can feel living with pancreatic cancer, but sharing your experiences can help.

On our website, you can read real stories written by people who have had pancreatic cancer and their families. There, you can read honest accounts of how they were diagnosed, the treatment they had, what their experiences have been and how they take care of themselves.

Real life stories are there whether you want to read other people’s stories or tell your own. Because no one understands the experience of pancreatic cancer quite like this community.

We know these stories have made a big difference to people currently affected by pancreatic cancer, so we’re working on expanding their features.

We’re looking at the best ways to help people search and find stories similar to their own experiences, and we’re currently looking at the best way to introduce this feature.

Newly Diagnosed Call

In speaking to people with experience of pancreatic cancer, we’ve heard how overwhelming a pancreatic cancer diagnosis can be.

We’re trialing a pre-bookable video call with one of our specialist nurses for people who are newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and their loved ones. This will offer people a space to have any questions about their diagnosis answered, helping them understand what to expect and learn about the other support we can offer.

People will be able to join alone or invite others supporting them to join too.

In trialing these new ways of offering support, we’re aiming to shape our services around what people with pancreatic cancer and their loved ones need, helping us support more people each year.

We’re collecting feedback and learning throughout these pilots to ensure the needs of people with pancreatic cancer are prioritised at every step.