World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day Held On Thursday

(Undated) -- Illinoisans and others around the globe were encouraged to don purple on Thursday to mark the first-ever World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day. Kelli Steckbauer with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network in Greater Chicago says this is one of the most deadly types of cancer, but efforts to build awareness have been slow over the years. Steckbauer says the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is only six percent. She adds this year, more than 46-thousand people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the United States, and for 39-thousand, it will be fatal within the year.