Background information

Pancreatic cancer is the tenth most common cancer in England, making up 3% (10,452) of all cancer diagnoses. It is the fifth most common cause of cancer death, accounting for around 6% of cancer deaths. It is one of the least survivable cancers with only 7.3% of people living five years or more beyond the date of their diagnosis.  As of 2018, 77.4% of staged pancreatic cancers were diagnosed late.

Pancreatic cancer is hard to diagnose because early symptoms are often vague, non-specific and intermittent. Spotting these early and proactively investigating them could lead to earlier diagnosis of the disease.

The Early Diagnosis Pancreatic Programme is aiming to improve survival rates for people with pancreatic cancer. To do this, the team works to develop new strategies and deliver programmes targeted at identifying pancreatic cancer at an early and treatable stage.

Role summary

We are looking for a new patient and public voice representative to join our expert advisory group.

We previously had two patient public voice representatives who have now left the group, and so we are keen to find someone to join who can bring the perspective and represent the views of people who have lived experience of cancer.

We are particularly interested in applications from people who have experience of pancreatic cancer, either personally, or who have supported a close family member or friend with the disease. We would also be happy to hear from people who have experience of hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) cancer, as we appreciate pancreatic cancer is quite rare.

We welcome applications from people with a range of experience in a patient public voice role. If you have no formal experience but feel you are skilled in making constructive suggestions and contributions, we would like to hear from you.

The expert advisory group consists of people from a range of professions and backgrounds, including pancreatic cancer charities, doctors from GP Practices, hospital consultants who specialise in pancreatic cancer and academics researching ways to improve the early diagnosis of cancer. The group advises the Programme Team on all sorts of things, such as designing new pilot programmes, thinking about the best way to communicate with patients and healthcare professionals, how to deliver programmes in the most effective way and suggesting new ideas to help improve patient experience and care.

The group meets formally for one hour once every two months (usually on a Tuesday). The Programme Team also sometimes contacts members outside of the meetings to gather information or recommendations on a particular issue or action that needs resolving.

Involvement fees

This role will carry an honorarium (involvement fee) of £75 per half day and £150 per full day. This can be claimed monthly and includes all prep work for meetings (reading agendas and papers, making notes), the meetings themselves and any subsequent actions.  It is requested that shorter meetings are combined into one claim, inline with Policy. If you are unsure on this, please check with your point of contact who can guide you on this.

Benefits to you

Through being involved in the Pancreatic Programme you will contribute to developing new strategies and delivering programmes aiming to improve life chances and patient experience for people with pancreatic cancer.

You will represent patients, helping to ensure they are at the centre of our work. For example, ensuring patient pathways and communications are designed and written in a clear and useful way.

You will meet experts in the field and collaborate with them regularly. 

Support for you

The Pancreatic Programme Team will support you in this role in a way that suits you best. For example, meeting with you on a 1:1 basis and/or holding pre-meets or de-briefs around the formal expert advisory meetings. 

How to apply

To apply for this role please complete the application form and send to pancreaticcancer@nhs.net

Please submit your application by midnight on Friday 26 September 2025.

Please outline the following in your statement:

• Information about you and your link to/experience of pancreatic or HPB cancer
• Why you are interested in doing this role
• Why you would be a good fit for the expert advisory group and what you would bring to the group
• Please tell us about any protected characteristics that are useful for us to be aware of, so we can be sure the role is set-up in a way that works for you.