Letter demanding investment delivered to all UK nations in memory of Tam
We united with Isla Gear for our campaign, Unite. Diagnose. Save Lives. taking a tour of all four UK nations to hand in our open letter and a petition calling for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. More than 270,000 people added their name, asking UK governments to act now and save lives in memory of Isla's brother, Tam Barker.
The iconic black door of 10 Downing Street provided the backdrop for the final leg of ‘Tam’s Tour,’ a journey that has taken campaigner Isla Gear and her nephew Max to all four nations of the UK. Together they delivered both the open letter for our campaign Unite. Diagnose. Save Lives. – signed by more than 70,000 supporters – and Isla’s own hugely successful petition. At the forefront of their minds throughout their week on the road was Tam Barker, Isla’s brother and Max’s dad. In his name they have brought the urgent call for action to make the early detection of pancreatic cancer a reality to the seats of government across the UK.
Tam Barker, died aged 47, just four weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Hours before Tam’s death, Isla set up a petition on Change.org calling for early detection in Scotland that received 200,000 signatures, making it the largest petition related to the disease in the UK. Isla decided to join our campaign to reach all UK governments and demand they act now to make early detection of the disease possible.
Isla said: “By uniting, I hope to raise even more awareness and secure change for everyone facing pancreatic cancer in the future. Even if it saves one family that is enough. Cancer doesn’t pick a border, country or age, so why should it just be about Scotland?”
Wendy Chamberlain, Isla’s MP and the MP for North East Fife, presented the petition and letter to Parliament today. Ahead of the hand-in, she said:
“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."
Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer. Tragically, like Tam, more than half of people die within three months of diagnosis. Currently, no early detection tests exist to help doctors diagnose pancreatic cancer and its vague symptoms – such as back pain, unexpected weight loss and indigestion – are also common to many less serious conditions. As a result, 80% of people are not diagnosed until their cancer is at an advanced stage meaning that it is too late for them to have lifesaving surgery. Survival for pancreatic cancer has seen little improvement since the early 1970s and by 2027, it is projected to overtake breast cancer to become the fourth biggest cancer killer in the UK.
Our open letter, delivered alongside Isla’s petition, calls on the Government to commit to the following three actions in the National Cancer Plan for England to transform pancreatic cancer survival:
- 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 years
Our calls for each UK nation can be read in further detail here. Holyrood was the first stop on Tam’s Tour, followed by Stormont, the Senedd and Downing Street.
Together, we were impossible to ignore. At every stop of our tour, Members of parliament and Ministers showed up, listened to us, and raised our concerns in their parliaments.
Read about our impact
- On the 29th of May in Scotland, Jenni Minto MSP Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health came out to meet us and directly heard our calls. 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.
- On the 2nd of June in Northern Ireland, Stewart Dickson MLA presented Isla’s petition to the Northern Ireland Assembly through an impassioned speech , calling for prioritisation of earlier pancreatic cancer detection. You can read his speech in full here which highlights Tam’s tragic passing from the disease. 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.
- On the 3rd of 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 Asgha, submitted questions to the First Minister calling for action on early detection. We secured a commitment from the Welsh Cross Party Group on Cancer to hold a specific session on early detection and research into pancreatic cancer.
- On the 4th of June in Westminster, Isla’s MP, Wendy Chamberlain joined us at Downing Street ahead of our hand in. She went on to officially present Isla’s petition inside the chamber of the House of Commons on the evening of our hand in. You can watch Isla’s petition being officially handed in above.
Tam's Tour at each UK nation
Isla’s brother, Tam was a well-loved cab driver and devoted dad. He experienced symptoms as early as spring 2024 but things worsened in May and June with intense stomach pain and constipation. He had organised an annual check-up and blood test after his cousin died from pancreatic cancer year’s prior. Tam thought that if anything was wrong, it would be flagged, not knowing current blood tests cannot detect the disease. From May to October, Tam visited his doctor’s surgery at least six times, and to A&E three times, due to his symptoms.
Isla, 38 said: “When he went to A&E, they kept saying he had a blockage, giving him laxatives and sending him home. It wasn’t until Tam had an appointment with his usual GP in November that the symptoms were taken seriously. On the 21st of November, Tam went back to A&E on his GPs orders. They ordered a CT scan to check for a blockage but instead found that he had pancreatic cancer.”
Tam was alone when he heard his diagnosis and compared the way he was told to being fired from a job. He was sent home in agony and began calling round his family to tell them the news.
Isla said: “It just didn’t feel real. When you hear the word cancer, but treatment hasn’t been discussed, it felt like it only meant one thing. Tam was hopeful at this stage, even with our family history of the disease. So, we stayed hopeful and fought alongside him. We thought maybe he will be one of the 7% that lives beyond five years following a diagnosis.”
Due to the pain, exhaustion and rapid weight-loss, having lost 20kg from the end of September to November, Tam was admitted to hospital again on the 4th of December, with hopes he’d return home soon. Tragically, he never made it back. On the 22nd of December, after spending several weeks on an overstretched general ward, he was moved to a hospice.
Isla said: “While he was in hospital Tam said he never wanted anyone else to go through this. I set up the petition while he was still with us on Christmas Day. He died on Boxing Day 2024, four weeks after diagnosis.”
"Tam was meant to be here for this. I’m spreading the message because he can’t. For him, his young son, our family and every person who may be affected by this disease in the future."
Isla said: “I called the journey to the four UK parliaments ‘Tam’s Tour’ in honour of the cab tours he would give to visiting tourists in Scotland. Tam was amazing and selfless. He wanted to help everybody.”
Currently just 3% of annual UK research spending on cancer is invested in pancreatic cancer. Decades of underfunding by successive governments have stifled progress in delivering earlier diagnosis and, new, more effective treatments. The charity believes that the dramatic improvement in survival for leukaemia (a type of blood cancer affecting a similar number of people annually) shows what could be possible, through increased and sustained investment in research. Investment in leukaemia grew from £17.6M (2002/03) to £33.6M (2015/16) and has been maintained at that level. In that time survival rates increased by 16%.
Diana Jupp, CEO of Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: “We were honoured to unite 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.”
Photos of Tam, who died four weeks after diagnosis, with his son Max
A spokesperson for Change.org said: “Isla’s campaign has moved hundreds of thousands of people across the UK, and it has made history as the largest Change.org petition ever created in the UK about pancreatic cancer. At Change.org, we empower people like Isla to turn personal tragedy into powerful, collective action. In honour of her brother Tam, Isla has sparked a national conversation around the urgent need for earlier diagnosis of this devastating disease. What began as one woman’s plea has grown into a movement supported by more than 200,000 voices.”
Around 10,700 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK each year. However, public awareness of the disease’s symptoms remains worryingly low. We recommend that anyone experiencing one or more of the most common symptoms – back pain, indigestion, tummy pain and weight-loss – for more than four weeks should contact their GP. Anyone with jaundice (yellowing of the eyes or skin) should immediately go to A&E.
