Twelve weeks. That's how long it took for my father to die of pancreatic cancer – one of the deadliest cancers in the world. It's often called a   silent killer for good reason  : it develops slowly with few early symptoms, until treatment options are limited.

A silent and aggressive cancer

Pancreatic cancer receives less media attention compared to lung, breast, or colon cancer. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most serious types of cancer and is   the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths   .

• In France alone, almost 16,000 new cases are discovered every year (   Santé Publique France, 2023   ).
• Worldwide, the incidence rate increases by 2–3% annually.
• The five-year survival rate is still below   10%   .

Diagnosis is usually made late: The average age at discovery is 71 for men and 74 for women. By then, more than three-quarters of the tumors are already inoperable. Only complete surgical removal offers a chance of long-term survival – therefore, early detection is crucial.

The two symptoms we overlooked