Our impact together

Thanks to the 70,000 incredible supporters who signed our open letters to UK leaders for our Unite. Diagnose. Save lives. campaign we’re making more progress than ever before in driving early detection.

As part of the campaign, thousands of you signed our open letters calling on our UK governments to commit to the following three actions:

• Invest in and roll out surveillance programmes for those at the highest risk of developing pancreatic cancer
• Invest in and roll out new blood, urine and breath biomarker tests within suspected cancer pathways
• Commit at least £35 million every year to pancreatic cancer research for the next 20 year

This spring, we took these demands to the doorstep of our leaders.

We united with passionate campaigner Isla Gear – who lost her brother Tam to pancreatic cancer – on a tour of all four UK parliaments to hand in our open letters for the campaign and Isla’s impactful Change.org petition.

At every stop of our hand-in tour, politicians and ministers showed up, listened to us, and raised our concerns in their parliaments. And now, the UK Government has responded to our demands.

Our impact in Westminster

• On 4th June in Westminster, Isla’s MP, Wendy Chamberlain joined us at Downing Street ahead of our hand in. That evening, Wendy went on to she officially presented Isla’s petition inside the chamber of the House of Commons. You can watch Isla’s petition being officially handed in below.

• A Health Minister responded to all the signatories of our open letter on behalf of the Prime Minister. In her, letter Ashley Dalton MP admits there is much more to be done to detect pancreatic cancer earlier and promises the new Cancer Plan for England will drive forward improvements.
• Over a thousand of our supporters wrote to their MP, to demand progress on pancreatic cancer through the upcoming Cancer Plan for England. This has resulted in dozens of MPs writing to the Health Minister on your behalf and is keeping pancreatic cancer in the spotlight as this crucial plan is finalised.

Read the UK Government’s response to our open letter

Our impact in Wales

• On 3rd June in Wales, a representative from First Minister Eluned Morgan’s office officially accepted our petitions and two supportive Members of the Senedd, Delyth Jewell and Natasha Asghar, submitted questions to the First Minister calling for action on early detection.
• We presented at the Cross-Party Group on Cancer in November looking into the various opportunities on the horizon to improve faster and earlier diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. The presentation gave a brilliant platform for Pancreatic Cancer UK and others to voice their opinions on how to best shift the dial in improving outcomes for those with pancreatic cancer in Wales.
• One week after our hand in one of our very supportive Members of the Senedd Delyth Jewell raised our campaign directly with the First Minister of Wales in the Senedd. This has led to a meeting with the Welsh Government in the Summer– which is a fantastic result. This could drive forward sorely needed improvements in early detection of pancreatic cancer in Wales.
• Finally, following our campaign, we met with Plaid Cymru’s Health spokesperson, Mabon ap Gwynfor who attended our hand in to discuss the need to focus on improving earlier and faster diagnosis of pancreatic and other less survivable cancers within Plaid Cymru’s manifesto.

Our impact in Northern Ireland

• On 2nd June in Northern Ireland, Stewart Dickson MLA presented Isla’s petition to the Northern Ireland Assembly through a passionate speech, calling for prioritisation of earlier pancreatic cancer detection. Read his speech in full.
• We secured a commitment from the All-Party Group on Cancer in Northern Ireland to hold a specific session on early detection and research into pancreatic cancer – set to take place in March 2026.
• A Members’ Debate on cancer services and outcomes was held in November, where pancreatic cancer was referenced throughout. Members emphasised the need for improvements to earlier diagnosis and survival outcomes in Northern Ireland, while Steward Dickson mentioned Isla’s visit to Stormont in his statement.

Our impact in Scotland

• On 29th May in Scotland, Health Minister Jenni Minto MSP met us outside Holyrood. She personally accepted our petition and open letter on behalf of the First Minister.
• Isla’s MSP Claire Baker submitted a motion calling for the Scottish Government to prioritise pancreatic cancer within the next Cancer Action Plan of the Scottish Cancer Strategy.
• We secured a commitment from the Scottish Cross Party Group on Cancer to hold a specific session on early detection and research into pancreatic cancer which took place in early December 2025. We used the session to spotlight the concerningly high rates of late diagnoses in Scotland, with Isla poignantly delivering the story of her brother, Tam, to underline the real lives affected by this issue. The session then looked at some promising work taking place at the University of Glasgow where researchers, funded by us, are aiming to find new ways to spot pancreatic cancer earlier with the help of world-leading technologies.
• We have since held meetings with MSPs who showed support for the campaign by writing to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, and who have offered to submit Parliamentary Questions on our behalf..

We won’t stop now.

Standing together has meant we’ve made some great progress. But these next few months will give us even more opportunities to transform pancreatic cancer survival.

In England, the Department of Health is finalising its new Cancer Plan for England. If this plan incorporates the demands of our campaign, it could be a gamechanger for everyone affected by pancreatic cancer.

In the Devolved Nations, we will take forward the brilliant opportunities you’ve helped us to secure, including meetings with senior officials in Wales and dedicated sessions on pancreatic cancer across the Senedd, Stormont and Holyrood.
The momentum you have built by signing your name will make sure our voices are heard as people across Wales and Scotland go to the polls for their national elections next May.