The voices of the late Alan Rickman, Patrick Swayze and Aretha Franklin feature in a hard-hitting new video appeal.
Alan Rickman died from pancreatic cancer in 2016
Pancreatic Cancer UK have marked Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month with a new appeal, 'Lost Voices: Help us break through the silence' - which calls for more donations to fund vital research for the deadliest common cancer - and have enlisted Jon Holmes to produce a powerful audio piece, with an accompanying animation, which features a host of stars who have lost their lives to the disease, including Sir John Hurt and Steve Jobs, as well as other celebrities who have been affected by the disease, including Olivia Williams and Ruby Wax.
Olivia Williams, Ambassador for Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: “When I was asked to be ambassador for Pancreatic Cancer UK I was worried that I wasn’t famous enough to raise significant amounts of money.
“It became clear that all the REALLY famous sufferers were dead. This fact devastated me, as I looked down the list of great singers, actors and scientists who had been lost too early, and too quickly.
“How could we harness their voice and their great legacy as performers and thinkers to raise awareness about the terrible killer that deprives us of their company?
“Jon Holmes is a genius who brings voices together that have never spoken to each other, and makes hilarious, satirical mischief. I asked him to use his powers for good instead of evil, and to my amazement he agreed, and 'Lost Voices' is the result.
Rima Horton - a trustee of the charity and the wife of the late Alan Rickman, who died in 2016 - lamented on seeing "barely any improvement" in prognosis rates for the disease in four decades.
She said: "It's hard to put into words just how truly horrific pancreatic cancer is and I think that's a significant part of why it's been neglected - why in 40 years we're seen barely any improvement in someone's chances of survival."
She went on to celebrate "the sheer creativity" with the campaign and how her late husband would have agreed with her.
Rima explained: "The sheer creativity at the heart of 'Lost Voices'would have excited Alan, and I'm so pleased that he is part of it. The message he and the other wonderfully talented individuals we've lost to pancreatic cancer have for the public is urgent. Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer, but finding a cure isn't a lost cause. With more research I know that a breakthrough will be made that will help save thousands of lives."
By 2026, pancreatic cancer is expected to become the fourth biggest cancer killer, but research has been critically underfunded for decades.
To donate, visit pancreaticcancer.org.uk/researchbreakthroughs
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