Listen
Photo: 123RF
Around 700 New Zealanders are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year.
It's one of the hardest cancers to spot, and even if it is caught early, the 5 year survival rate is still only 5 percent.
But, there is a drug therapy available called PERT - pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy.
The problem is there seems to be a lack of awareness of it by both doctors and patients.
That's why ASPERT, the Aotearoa Australia Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy research group, has launched a patient registry on social media to guide more people towards the medication.
The team is led by Dr Amanda Landers, a palliative cate physician and Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago.