PanCAN Marks Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month with New Hope as Breakthroughs in Treatments Signal a New Era for Patients

'All Together We Can' Campaign Calls on the Public to Join the Movement; Sets Five-Year, $250 Million Fundraising Goal to Accelerate Progress

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (October 28, 2026) - November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) is highlighting an unprecedented moment of progress in the fight against pancreatic cancer as recent groundbreaking advances in RAS-targeting therapies offer new hope to patients and families. PanCAN is bringing the community together to build on this momentum through its most ambitious fundraising campaign yet - All Together We Can - a five-year, $250 million campaign to accelerate breakthrough research, expand its PanCAN Patient Services program and further strengthen the pancreatic community to bring us closer to the survival rates patients deserve.

This progress comes at a pivotal time for PanCAN and the pancreatic cancer community with the recent FDA approval of a treatment targeting the mutations that drive more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. For decades, RAS mutations were considered one of the most difficult targets in cancer research. That changed earlier this year when clinical trial results for RASONQUE™ (daraxonrasib) showed that patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer lived a median of 13.2 months compared with 6.7 months for those receiving standard chemotherapy. Today, more drugs are in the pipeline than ever before, signaling a new generation of therapies poised to transform what's possible.

"This is a moment of tremendous hope for the pancreatic cancer community. We are seeing breakthroughs that were once thought impossible, but we know there is so much more to do," said Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA, president and CEO, PanCAN. "The All Together We Can is about harnessing this momentum and ensuring that today's breakthroughs become the foundation for even greater advances tomorrow. This November, PanCAN is calling on everyone impacted by pancreatic cancer, as well as those who want to help change its future, to take action and join the movement. Visit pancan.org to learn more."

Despite the recent progress, pancreatic cancer is still one of the most difficult cancers to detect and treat. It is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and is on track to become the second. It remains the only major cancer with a five-year survival rate below 20%. Because symptoms are often vague and mimic other conditions, most patients are diagnosed in the later stages, when tumors are inoperable and treatment options are limited. Detecting the disease earlier, when surgery is possible, is critical to improving outcomes. There is no standard screening strategy for pancreatic cancer and few treatment options, highlighting the urgent need for increased funding and awareness to improve patient outcomes. 

The All Together We Can campaign will advance breakthrough research by investing boldly in early detection, new therapies, the next generation of researchers and the data systems that fuel science, building a research ecosystem that turns discoveries into treatments faster. It will expand Patient Services, guiding every patient to the right care, clinical trials and support so no one faces pancreatic cancer alone. And it will champion a thriving community - researchers, clinicians, advocates, policymakers and patients - to turn science into survival for every patient.

For anyone diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, contact the PanCAN Patient Services team at 310-361-0987. PanCAN's highly trained and compassionate Case Managers provide free, personal one-to-one support and information about the disease and can also find resources for any questions related to pancreatic cancer. For more information about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and its urgent mission to save lives, visit pancan.org or follow PanCAN on follow PanCAN on X, Instagram, and Facebook.

About the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) is the leading organization dedicated to advancing progress against pancreatic cancer. We unite the pancreatic cancer community and push every boundary to create a world where survival is the expectation - not the exception. PanCAN empowers patients and caregivers with the resources and knowledge they need to advocate for the care they deserve. We are pioneering the advancement of an early detection strategy for pancreatic cancer and revolutionizing the development of advanced and personalized treatments; and we are building and mobilizing the pancreatic cancer field to ensure better outcomes for all those who face pancreatic cancer today and all those who will fight this disease tomorrow.

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Media Contacts:

SMITHHOUSE Strategy for PanCAN: [email protected]

Julie Vasquez, Senior Director, Public Relations, PanCAN, 310-697-9129, Email: [email protected]