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Jessica Spicer

Move It 2026

In Loving Memory Of

Paul Whelan

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die

My Activity Tracking

148
kms

My target 156 kms

Support my challenge to end pancreatic cancer

Friends, family, and anyone who has ever loved someone too deeply to let them go

We talk about cancer all the time. We raise funds, we wear ribbons, we fight. But there is one cancer that is different, one that steals loved ones faster, quieter, and more unfairly than any other. In Australia, it is the cruelest of them all. It is pancreatic cancer. And I know its cruelty not from a textbook, but from the six short weeks it gave us with my grandfather.

Let me start with the facts. TheĀ numbers that tell a story far too many Australians know all too well.

Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of every major cancer in this country. Right now, the 5 year survival rate sits at just 13%. Thirteen percent. Compare that to the 72% survival rate across all cancers combined. It is the third leading cause of cancer death in Australia, taking more than 4,000 lives every year ā€” nearly 11 people, every single day. More than 4,600 Australians will hear those words ā€œyou have pancreatic cancerā€ this year alone ā€” and 80 to 85% of them will be diagnosed too late for surgery, the only treatment that can offer a cure.

Why? Because it hides. There is no routine screening no mammogram, no blood test, no simple check we can do as part of our regular health care. Its early symptoms are easy to brush off. indigestion, back pain, tiredness, unexplained weight loss. Things we all say are ā€œjust getting olderā€ or ā€œjust stress.ā€ By the time it makes itself known, it has already spread. And it moves fast.

For most people, the timeline is not measured in years. It is measured in months. And for far too many, like my family, Ā it is measured in weeks.

I stand here today with a hole in my heart that will never fully heal. Because when my grandfather was diagnosed, we were given six weeks. That was all.

Six weeks to process the shock that came out of nowhere. Six weeks to sit by his bed, to hold his hand, to say all the things we should have said over years that were suddenly stolen from us. Six weeks to watch the strongest, kindest man we knew fade before our eyes ā€” faster than any doctor could slow it, faster than we could ever prepare for. Forty-two days between the day we heard the diagnosis, and the day we said our final goodbye.

Six weeks. Not months. Not years. Just six weeks.

That is why I say pancreatic cancer is Australiaā€™s worst cancer. Not because it is the most common, but because it is the most unforgiving. It gives no warning, it offers little hope, and it takes everything before you are ready to let go. While survival rates for other cancers have climbed year after year, pancreatic cancer survival has barely improved in decades. Deaths from it have risen 40% in the last ten years alone, and by 2030, it is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer death in Australia.

This is not just a statistic. It is a grandfather. A mother. A partner. A friend. It is every family that is told ā€œthere is nothing more we can doā€ before they have even had time to absorb the news.

I share our story not to bring sadness, but to urge you. know the signs. If you or someone you love has persistent, unexplained pain in the belly or back, if you lose weight without trying, if your skin or eyes look yellow, donā€™t wait. Donā€™t brush it off. Push for answers. Ask about the pancreas. Because every single day matters.

And let us demand better. Better research. Better screening. Better treatments. No family should ever be given only six weeks with someone they love. No one should have to say goodbye before they have truly had the chance to fight.

My grandfather was a good man. He deserved more than six weeks. We all deserved more than six weeks. Let us honour him, and every Australian lost to this disease, by speaking up, because pancreatic cancer doesnā€™t make a sound when it arrives. So we have to be loud enough for all of those who can no longer speak.

May my grandfather rest in peace. And may we fight until no family has to go through what we did.

Thank you.

Please help me reach my goal

Raised

$205

My Goal

$480

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My Memory Wall for my grandfather, Paul Whelan

My Tribute Post

Doing this for you grandad !!

My Achievements

Thank you to my Sponsors

$55.95

Riley Spicer

Love youu jess xx

$41.03

Pauline Whelan

You go my girl šŸ„°

$23.81

Huntah Spicer

šŸ„° go Jess!

$20

Cynthia Beer

$20

Amelia O’grady

so good jess!!

$20

Sophie Height

proud of you jess!!

$11.92

Ruby Holderhead

Hey Jess, I saw your Facebook post and was shocked by the facts and statistics of pancreatic cancer. I’m so terribly sorry for your loss. I don’t have a lot, but I’d love to give what I can to support you, and help your cause. ā¤ļø Keep up the good work, I wish you and your family all the best - Ruby H

$6.20

Declan Edwards

$5

Jude And Norah

Good luck Jess

$1

Anonymous

hi jess

Thank you to my Sponsors

$20

Cynthia Beer

$20

Amelia O’grady

so good jess!!

$20

Sophie Height

proud of you jess!!

$11.92

Ruby Holderhead

Hey Jess, I saw your Facebook post and was shocked by the facts and statistics of pancreatic cancer. I’m so terribly sorry for your loss. I don’t have a lot, but I’d love to give what I can to support you, and help your cause. ā¤ļø Keep up the good work, I wish you and your family all the best - Ruby H

$6.20

Declan Edwards

$5

Jude And Norah

Good luck Jess

$1

Anonymous

hi jess

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