Mario R. Alvarez Sr. Pancreatic Cancer Foundation |

Donations

Join this mission from the heart – we work with Hirshberg Foundation and UCLA (pancreatic.org) to fund seed grant researchers looking for a test of pancreatic cancer – please help us.

Thank you for visiting the Mario R. Alvarez Cancer Foundation site. This site is a non profit 501-c-3 organization. The efforts of this website are solely supported by donations and grants. We depend on the generosity of those who appreciate the efforts of the Mario R. Alvarez Cancer Foundation and those who share our vision; one of providing ongoing, current, and impartial information to help patients and physicians create optimal treatment strategies. If your donation is in honor of someone, please include the individual’s name with your donation. If you would like us to send an acknowledgement letter to the family, please include the family’s name and address. We need your help to continue this work.

Mission Statement

The purpose of this site is to serve as a focal and gathering point on the Internet for some of the latest news and information in regard to responsible medical care in the treatment of cancer. Additionally, our goal is to present impartial knowledge about cancer where interested parties can sort through a large amount of information efficiently in order to give a sense of the range of existing treatment options, to aid patient/doctor partnerships, and thus to help optimize personal treatment strategies.

Receiving a diagnosis of cancer is serious news. For some, conventional surgical and /or medical therapy is the best option. For many of those with more advanced disease, putting one’s affairs in order and seeking that medical attention which will help insure physical and emotional comfort, is the correct and most responsible decision.

About Pancreatic Cancer

Cancer is now the most common cause of death in the world; The second most common in the U.S. (behind cardiovascular disease). Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer mortality (behind lung cancer, colorectal cancer and breast cancer). It is the third most common cause of cancer death in men and the fifth in women.

250 people in North America and Europe will die TODAY from pancreatic cancer. (100,000 deaths per year).

The U.S. National Cancer Institute funds pancreatic cancer research at shockingly low levels (year 2005-07 figures). Pancreatic cancer research receives (per mortality):

15% of the funding of breast cancer (but causes 82% of the mortality)
17% of the funding of prostate cancer (but causes more mortality)
41% of the funding of colorectal cancer (but causes 63% of the mortality)

Pancreatica.org continues to support legislative and other efforts aimed at increasing the funding for pancreatic cancer treatment and research at the U.S. Federal level and at the States level.