Facts

  • In 2020 an estimated 57,600 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and 47,050 will die.  By comparison, 279,100 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 42,690 will die.
  • Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer related deaths in the United States.  Only lung cancer and colorectal cancer kill more Americans.
  • The pancreas is located deep in the abdomen. Pancreatic cancer produces few symptoms.  There are also no current early detection methods.  For those reasons, only 15-20 percent of pancreatic tumors can be surgically removed at time of diagnosis.
  • Most pancreatic cancer patients die in the first 5-7 months.  Only one in four live a year.
  • The five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is 10 percent.  By comparison, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 91 percent.  The five-year survival rate for prostate cancer approaches 100 percent.