LOCAL MP Ronnie Cowan has pledged his support to a cancer campaign.

Mr Cowan was inspired to sign up after learning about the bleak survival rates for pancreatic cancer and the fact that almost 170 people in Greater Glasgow and Clyde lost their lives to the deadly disease last year.

At a Pancreatic Cancer UK drop-in event at Westminster he heard that 93 per cent of people diagnosed will not survive five years or more and there has been very little improvement since the 1970s.

Mr Cowan said: “Tragically, pancreatic cancer took the lives of 169 people in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area during 2015. It is clear that much more work is needed to deliver the kind of change which we must see for people affected, and to achieve the improvements in survival so desperately needed.

“This year, 9,600 people in the UK will receive a pancreatic cancer diagnosis. I want to encourage everyone in Inverclyde to join me in getting on purple alert this November, to help change the future for everyone affected by the disease.”

The charity is calling on people to Move It, Bake It, Quiz It, Game It, Style It or Wear It purple as part of its Purple Alert campaign.

The funds raised from these activities will help the charity offer vital support to patients and families, invest in crucial research to help us see the breakthroughs we urgently need, and be a voice for everyone affected by the disease.

Alex Ford, chief executive at Pancreatic Cancer UK, said:“We’re extremely grateful Ronnie Cowan MP has shown his support by signing our Purple Alert pledge at our drop-in event and learning more about the numbers of people affected by pancreatic cancer the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

“Whilst significant improvements have been made in survival for many other cancers, with 50 per cent of all cancer patients now surviving for ten years or more, pancreatic cancer survival has seen little improvement, with just one per cent of patients living for ten years or more.

"That’s why we are calling on people in Inverclyde to join us in getting on Purple Alert this November, to help us raise more funds for research into the disease and provide vital support for people affected. People can join our campaign at www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/pcam”