Good afternoon. My name is Melissa Yazman. I was diagnosed in May of 1997 with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. I am here today, three and a half years later, as a survivor who has battled to survive the odds. I am a veteran of both standard treatment and clinical trials. I have been blessed because I am here to fight another day. Most people with pancreatic cancer are not so fortunate. I am also here today as a representative of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, called PANCAN. PANCAN was founded in 1999 as the first and only national advocacy organization for pancreatic cancer. Within a few short months the ranks of our grassroots volunteers have swelled to thousands, and today we work to increase awareness and bring attention to the urgent need for well-designed, medical research with positive outcomes. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death for men and women in this country. The American Cancer Society tells us that at the beginning of the year 2000 we will see 28,300 Americans diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. One year later we will find that 28,200 people will have died from pancreatic cancer. These are not good numbers, folks. A typical pancreatic cancer patient is diagnosed at Stage IV with metastatic disease, and has the life expectancy of three to six months. There are no early detection models out there. No PAP smears; no scans; nothing to help us. Our treatment options are severely limited. There are only two FDA approved drugs for treatment of pancreatic cancer. One of these drugs was only recently approved, in the last three years, and the other drug, 5-FU, is a standard oncological drug. Both are considered palliative. No expectation of cure, merely palliative. We want to thank FDA for initiating these discussions on compassionate use. This is an issue that is vitally important to the pancreatic cancer community because we are desperate. We need access to as many options for treatment as possible, and we are here today to listen and to share our views in the hopes that this meeting is the beginning of the process that will be productive for all us. We believe that our starting point is to clearly define the roles of all the agents, all the parties -- the patients, the advocates, the FDA and the drug companies. I can assure you that, as part of the advocate community, we want to be part of your process. The issues are clearly complicated and there are more questions than can ever be answered in an afternoon's hearing, but the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network feels that this issue is important enough that the FDA should convene a full-day meeting or a series of meetings with patients, advocates, health and industry professionals to tackle these questions head on. We strongly urge that a Part 15 hearing take place. We believe that by working together and by talking to each other we can all be an active part of the solution for a situation that is clearly bigger than all of us. We have no hidden agendas at PANCAN. Our bottom line is simple. We must find a way to provide patients with access to the best treatments, the most options and the greatest hope without undermining the safety and efficacy of new drug development. In today's age of discovery and application, anything else is simply unacceptable. Thank you. Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.