The Elizabeth Coteman Fund is delighted that Coronation Street has decided to run a key storyline to help raise much needed awareness of this brutal disease.
Below is an extract from the official Coronation Street press release:
Coronation Street’s Hayley Cropper is to be diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in moving scenes which will be screened this week. (Monday July 22nd). Viewers will see Hayley called in by her doctor for tests after a routine medical shows up abnormalities. And she is devastated when the results reveal that she has potentially fatal stage 2 Pancreatic Cancer.
Throughout the rest of the year we will follow the Cropper’s on their journey as they come to terms with the devastation this awful disease causes but there will also be many laughs along the way as Hayley deals with her diagnosis in her own inimitable style.
Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh announced earlier this year that she was leaving the soap after 15 years and feels honoured that her departure storyline gives her the opportunity to explore a subject that affects so many people.
The Facts About Pancreatic Cancer
- Pancreatic Cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death and has the lowest survival rate of all cancers.
- Each year approximately 8,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer.
- 40 years ago only 3% of people diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer survived five years or more – that figure is still 3%!
- Over the past few years real progress has been made in treating many other types of cancer but sadly, the survival rates for Pancreatic Cancer have barely changed. Yet despite the high death rate, of all UK research spending on cancer, Pancreatic Cancer receives just 1%!
In terms of research, there are easier cancers to work on. Pancreatic Cancer is notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat, because it is unusually aggressive, symptoms are often vague and appear at a late stage and surgery is very difficult.
Dress Purple for Pancreatic Cancer
The Elizabeth Coteman Fund will be partnering with The Cambridge Building Society throughout August as their ‘charity of the month’. The joint campaign will aim to raise awareness of the disease, as well as raise much needed funding. They are asking companies to get their staff to dress in purple on Friday 23rd August 2013 and for every person taking part to donate £1.
A social media campaign is planned to start on Thursday 1st August to highlight key facts about the disease. The Elizabeth Coteman Fund (@ecfund) and The Cambridge (@Cambridgebs) will encourage businesses to tweet their support and their pictures using#FightPC.
The money raised will go to The Elizabeth Coteman Fund who will donate grants directly to sufferers, their families and carers.
“The storyline that Coronation Street is running coincides perfectly with our campaign to raise awareness. Pancreatic Cancer is a vicious disease and much more needs to be done to raise the public profile of its symptoms. We are delighted The Cambridge are partnering with us on this campaign and we hope to see many other companies taking part; the more people involved means us creating more noise about the disease which can only be a positive thing. Our family has been affected in the worse possible way by this disease and together we want to do all we can to offer support and help to people going through the same experience we did.”
If you or your company is interested in getting involved in the ‘Dress Purple for Pancreatic Cancer’ day please contact Emma Coteman at The Elizabeth Coteman Fund on +44 7803 543992 or email info@ecfund.org
