The Jreissati Pancreatic Centre’s Race to Earlier Cancer Diagnoses
Pancreatic cancer, while relatively rare, is one of the most challenging and aggressive
forms of cancer, too often developing silently and going undetected until it reaches an
advanced stage.
With a survival rate of just 13%, it is the 3rd-leading cause of cancer-related death in Australia, making early diagnosis as critical as it is difficult. However, there’s hope on the horizon.
In 2024, the Telematics Trust awarded the Jreissati Pancreatic Centre at Epworth HealthCare $50,000 of grant assistance. Thanks to this funding, the centre is now hard at work developing an interactive decision tool to help GPs diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier.
The web-based tool will analyse symptoms and risk factors, identify patients requiring urgent investigation and provide GPs with all-important guidance on pathways forward.
By improving early detection and streamlining referrals, the Jreissati Pancreatic Centre is ever-closer to their goal of enhancing survival rates and quality of life for people living with pancreatic cancer.
The Jreissati Story
When Elias Jreissati received his pancreatic cancer diagnosis at 54 – around the same age that his father lost his own battle with the disease – it marked the beginning of a terrifying journey for him and his family.
At first, Elias believed he had food poisoning, but his doctor was unconvinced, and based on Elias’s family history, ordered an endoscopic ultrasound that found a stage 1 tumour.
Thankfully, his doctor’s quick action and persistence means that Elias is still around to tell his story, and led him to approach the Epworth to establish The Jreissati Pancreatic Centre.
The happy ending to Elias’s story is sadly uncommon. Because patients present vague symptoms that mimic other issues, and with GPs seeing, on average, less than two pancreatic cancer cases a year, it is usually diagnosed too late.
This is why the Jreissati Centre’s Telematics-funded interactive support tool is being created with a laser-focus on early detection.
Using a framework established by homegrown pancreatic experts, the world-first tool will equip GPs with the capability to navigate a range of symptoms in an easy and intuitive digital application, and provide them with the guidance they need to make a quick, life-saving diagnosis.
Breaking Barriers to Diagnosis
An attribute of the Jreissati Centre’s support tool that particularly excites the Telematics Trust is its limitlessness.
By leveraging digital technology, the Jreissati Centre is ensuring pancreatic cancer survival rates and patient quality of life will be improved regardless of location.
The tool will also be freely available on the Jreissati Centre’s ‘GP hub’, and promoted through Epworth’s well-connected GP Liaison team and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) to ensure it is at the fingertips of every GP possible.
We asked Ashleigh Poh, Project Manager at the Jreissati Pancreatic Centre, to reflect on the effect of Telematics Trust’s support:
“The generous support from the Telematics Trust has enabled us to develop a web-based decision tool to help GPs diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier. This tool will use a risk stratification model established by Australian experts to identify patients requiring urgent investigation based on symptoms and risk factors, and guide GPs through expert-recommended diagnostic pathways. We are so grateful to the Telematics Trust for funding our project.”
A Hopeful, Tech-powered Future
As Australia’s only specialist centre exclusively dedicated to pancreatic disease, the Jreissati Pancreatic Centre is at the forefront of the fight against this country’s deadliest cancer.
While research has been sorely underfunded in the past, Telematics Trust is proud to be playing our part to help. Thanks to experts who are unafraid of harnessing technology, the work of the Jreissati Centre is helping point to a more hopeful future.
Read on about the Jreissati Pancreatic Centre story, their mission and values, and stay informed about their incredible work by visiting their website.
