PEOPLE in Yorkshire are being urged to find out more about pancreatic cancer.

The plea came after a national survey, commissioned by Pancreatic Cancer Action, found that only 5 per cent of people in the region know a lot about the illness.

The charity said that across the nation this year, 9,600 men and women will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and 8,800 will die of the disease and, of 795 people diagnosed with it in Yorkshire and Humberside, only 40 survived.

“It is the UK’s fifth worst cause of cancer death, with a survival rate of just 5 per cent - the worst of the 22 most common cancers,” it said.

Pancreatic Cancer Action is a UK charity founded by Ali Stunt, a rare survivor of the disease, who said: “Despite the increasingly high rate of pancreatic cancer in the UK, our new research highlights a fundamental lack of awareness of the tell-tale signs of the disease.

“Survival rates of pancreatic cancer remain at a standstill, with less than 1 per cent of sufferers being given a prognosis for a ten-year life expectancy.

“Given that there is currently no screening process available for pancreatic cancer, it is imperative that people can spot the signs and symptoms early enough to make surgery a viable option, in order to secure earlier diagnosis of this deadly disease, and improve survival rates.”

She said symptoms included but were not limited to jaundice, weight loss, new onset diabetes and severe abdominal or back pain.

“Most people with these symptoms do not have pancreatic cancer, but anyone with one or more of them should see their GP. Studies show that diagnosis early enough for surgery increases a patient’s life expectancy significantly.”