What We Do
Everyone involved with OneMore shares our passion to bring new advances to pancreatic cancer patients as rapidly as possible; providing the only coordinated effort in the world dedicated to rapidly translating research discoveries into new treatments and supportive care for patients with pancreatic cancer.
The OneMore alliance is focused on an all out effort to identify the genes that may reveal one's predisposition to getting the disease and understanding the genetic changes contributing to its development and resistance to therapy. Experiments that were impossible and impractical only a few years ago are now conducted every day, leading us to earlier diagnoses and smarter treatments.
In addition, we continue to develop novel therapies for the cure of pancreatic cancer, design relevant clinical trials and help launch fundraising programs to support these activities.
Through our international partnerships with academic, clinical, and corporate entities, it is our mission to deliver all relevant discoveries to the patient bedside in the form of improved healthcare interventions more rapidly than ever.
Six Things To Know About Pancreatic Cancer
TGen’s pancreatic cancer research is led by TGen’s physician-in-chief and distinguished professor Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, described as the nation’s “leading authority” on this disease by Dr. Eric Topol in his 2012 book, The Creative Destruction of Medicine.
Dr. Von Hoff describes six things you should know about pancreatic cancer:
What is the pancreas?
Shaped like a small banana, this gland assists in food digestion and hormone production, including insulin. It is tucked between the stomach and spine, deep in the abdominal cavity. That location greatly hinders early detection of pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer currently is the nation’s fourth leading cause of cancer-related death.
This year, more than 46,000 Americans will be diagnosed with this disease, and nearly 40,000 will succumb to it. By 2020, it is projected to become the nation’s second leading cause of cancer-related death, trailing only lung cancer as the biggest killer.
It claims a higher percentage of lives than any other form of cancer, but with new treatment there is an improvement in survival.
Unfortunately, more than 70 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer die within one year of diagnosis, and fewer than 6 percent survive more than 5 years. But there is hope through earlier detection and increasingly more effective treatments. There are now two new treatments that improve survival even for people with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Last year, following worldwide tests initiated by TGen, the FDA approved a drug called nanoparticle albumin-coated paclitaxel (Abraxane), which was found to extend the survival of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. In addition, the regimen Folfirinox, developed by French investigators, also improved survival for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Other potential advances in treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer are in ongoing clinical trials. Ask your doctor about participation in one of those clinical trials.
Risk factors for and symptoms of pancreatic cancer.
Currently, there is no screening test for the disease, so it usually is not diagnosed until its late stages when it is much more difficult to treat. Surgical removal of the tumor is possible only about 1 in 5 patients. Being alert to risk factors can help. Risk factors include: family history of the disease (often in younger people), diabetes or new onset diabetes, inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), smoking, age and sedentary lifestyle. Symptoms include: abdominal or back pain, weight loss, yellowing of the skin and eyes, loss of appetite, and nausea.
Discovering a method of early detection is a priority for pancreatic cancer research.
At TGen, we team with clinical partners dedicated to finding a method for early detection of pancreatic cancer. A method of early detection for pancreatic cancer that, like a mammogram for breast cancer, would provide the ability to get ahead of this disease and treat it in its early stages. This would give pancreatic cancer patients a very good fighting chance at long-term survival or cure. To find the method for early detection, or better treatment, requires more patients to enter clinical trials. In partnership with TGen, oncology clinical trials are conducted at HonorHealth Research Institute. Patients seeking information about research clinical trials may contact HonorHealth Oncology Nurse Navigator at 480-323-1339, or toll free at 1-877-273-3713, or e-mail: [email protected]
Keep fighting pancreatic cancer in every way you can.
Pancreatic cancer is not some impossible enemy. We need “all hands on deck” to get this one. Many other cancers have been cured. This one will be too. Gather a team who will keep you comfortable and in the best possible shape to keep fighting. Breakthroughs happen and often happen quickly. We must keep after it to defeat it.
Lee Hanley Hotline
Patient Resources
There are a number of sites and resources for patients and families faced with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Below are a few that provide information, forums, clinical trials, and opportunities to connect with others who have similar questions and share the same concerns.
National Cancer Institute Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are essential for moving new methods of preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer from the laboratory to physicians' offices and other clinical settings. NCI has a broad array of programs that support clinical research, including programs that facilitate the development of new interventions, from the initial creation of candidate drugs in the lab to final testing in late-stage clinical trials. Read more about NCI’s clinical trials programs and initiatives.
http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials
CaringBridge
CaringBridge offers free, personal and private websites for people facing a serious health challenge. Using a CaringBridge webpage, patients and caregivers can share updates, post photos and receive messages of hope and encouragement through a guestbook.
Cancer Support Community
1-888-793-9355
Education and support services for cancer patients and their families, including support groups, stress-reduction techniques, cancer education workshops, and more.
http://www.cancersupportcommunity.org/
Cancer.Net
Cancer.Net provides timely, comprehensive, oncologist-approved information from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), with support from the Conquer Cancer Foundation. Cancer.Net brings the expertise and resources of ASCO to people living with cancer and those who care for and about them to help patients and families make informed health care decisions.
http://www.cancer.net/portal/site/patient
Patient Power
Patient Power® is devoted to helping you and your family through knowledge, to get the best medicine and return to good health.
CancerCare
CancerCareis the leading national organization providing free, professional support services and information to help people manage the emotional, practical and financial challenges of cancer. Their services include counseling and support groups over the phone, online and in-person, educational workshops, and more. Oncology social workers and world-leading cancer experts provide services.
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service.
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK is dedicated to cancer research. All its activities are directed towards their ultimate goal of beating cancer.
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org
OncoLink
OncoLink is an on-line resource that makes it easy for the general public to find the information that they need. Through OncoLink patients can get comprehensive information about specific types of cancer, updates on cancer treatments and news about research advances. If you are interested in learning about cancer, you will benefit from visiting OncoLink.
If you would like OneMore to consider adding additional links to this page, please drop us a line at [email protected].
Clinical Trials
Only about one in four pancreatic cancer patients survive more than one year after diagnosis, and just 6 percent survive for more than five years. The mission of Dr. Daniel Von Hoff’s clinical trials is to provide one more ray of hope to those patients.
Your support of clinical trials will help OneMore reach and serve more patients.
Just 3 percent of all adults with cancer participate in clinical trials nationwide, according to the National Institutes of Health. The only way to make progress against pancreatic cancer is by increasing participation in these critical trials. The patients who take that step and enroll in clinical trials are those on the front lines, fighting alongside Dr. Von Hoff and the OneMore team.
"I have been extremely fortunate to have many great (and incredibly patient) teachers, mentors, and co-workers," Dr. Von Hoff said. "Truly though I think the greatest teachers and mentors for me have been those I have been privileged to care for."
These patients help establish a new standard of care as OneMore scientists and researchers work to push the bar forward.
Your financial support of these clinical trials will enable OneMore to reach and enroll more patients and test new and novel therapies. Supporting clinical trials is an investment in a new standard of care and better outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients.
Early Detection
Why is Early Detection Important?
Today, less than 15 percent of cancer research funding focuses on early detection, even though intervention at the earliest stages dramatically improves a patient’s chance of survival. Using approaches found nowhere else, OneMore scientists and doctors have created a bridge between basic science and clinical research with the goal of saving lives and improving quality of life for patients.
“There have been no improvements, whatsoever, in early detection of pancreatic cancer in the past 20 to 25 years. That’s a problem.” Dr. Von Hoff explains. “Remember, from the day a tumor is born, by the time it grows to eight cells, it goes all over the body. It doesn’t stay localized. It sets up housekeeping. So the earlier you get it, the better chance you have of curing it.”
Routine screenings can saves lives, catching cancerous cells before they begin casting their lines into healthy organs and tissue. With no way to detect it at the earliest stages, pancreatic cancer thwarts attempts to unmask its hiding places until it’s too late.
Today, early detection can mean the difference between life and death. We need a Mammogram for the pancreas! It’s that simple.
Your Impact: Imagining the Future, Today
Your support of OneMore allows Dr. Von Hoff and his colleagues to create a paradigm shift in pancreatic cancer detection, revealing tantalizing prospects for life-saving interventions in a not-too-distant future.
With your support early detection will become a reality. By pursuing the Holy Grail of diagnosing cancer in the five- to 10-year window before it becomes symptomatic, OneMore seizes an historic opportunity to change the practice of medicine. Our goals:
Early detection of pancreatic cancer and its partner —early intervention— will save lives and improve the quality of life for patients. Help us stop pancreatic cancer before it starts.