Patient advocacy.

Regardless of the treatment regimens and ongoing research we do as medical doctors and scientists, our bottom line is to improve the lives of those suffering from pancreatic cancer; certainly not an easy undertaking. In a previous issue of Pancreatology (April 2008, vol. 8), our editor discussed the importance of empathy toward our patients. In reflecting on the mission of trying to accomplish this goal, it is the patients, themselves, and their families who can offer the best insight into the quality of life of the patient. In this issue, the focus is on pancreatic cancer patients and their families who have formed foundations and websites toward the cause. Their insight should be valued not only for the support group they form for other patients but for medical doctors and researchers as well. In addition, their advocacy for this devastating disease is essential to our mission both in their generosity with funding and in their voices to our governments for more national funding in this area. The human factor should never be erased from our thoughts.