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Pa ge 6 T hu rs da y, A pr il 9, 2 01 5 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a The Independent & Free Press is published Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press is a member of the Ontario Press Coun- cil, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ ontpress.com or call 416-340-1981. The Independent & Free Press It's time to fight the silent killer Letters to the editor 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: Chris Vernon (cvernon@metroland.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds/Real Estate Kristie Pells (realestate@theifp.ca) Classified Call Centre 1-855-415-8237 classified@theifp.ca Accounting 1-866-773-6575 Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox by signing up for our twice weekly electronic newsletter. Go to www.theifp.ca and click on 'Newsletter sign-up' at the bottom of the homepage. Where's the CCAC care? Thanks for the grub It seems strange that one of the deadliest forms of cancer receives just a small percentage of research funding. But that's the case for pancreatic cancer, which strikes about 4,700 Canadians annually and kills three-quarters of those diagnosed within a year. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in Canada and most people who develop it do so without any predisposing risk factors. Perhaps the biggest risk factor is increasing age; it typically strikes individuals older than 50. It can also appear in younger people, particu- larly individuals with a family history of the dis- ease. Since the pancreas lies deep in the stomach in front of the spine, pancreatic cancer often grows silently for months before it is discovered. "People are shocked to learn that it claims nearly as many lives each year as breast and pros- tate cancer yet remains somewhat of an 'under- dog' - under funded, misunderstood and under recognized," notes Pancreatic Cancer Canada. The agency references a report by non-profit institute Charity Intelligence Canada, stating less than one per cent of research and charitable funding goes to the fourth-leading cause of can- cer-related deaths. The eight per cent survival rate hasn't changed in decades and only a relative "handful" of scien- tists focus exclusively on pancreatic cancer. Cindy Greene knows firsthand the devastating impact of pancreatic cancer. Her husband, Dick, died only 10 months after being diagnosed with the disease. "It is really a horrible, horrible disease," she said. "If you can have surgery, your survival rate goes up a wee bit, but not a whole lot." Government and private investments in researching other forms of cancer have certainly paid off over the decades, leading to greatly improved treatments and survival rates. It's time more attention be paid to one of the deadliest forms of this disease. For more information, visit pancreaticcancer- canada.ca. Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) produces a very glossy website page of the wonderful assistance provided for needful persons. A "care manager" decides which and how much service is provided. This is done by an assessment, which is made without visiting or telephoning to assess the real needs. A double stroke victim, and a senior, left with shoulder trouble, no use of the arm and hand, swollen hand and foot, very poor balance, only able to move with wheelchair and walker was as- sessed in the manner above and allocat- ed one hour, one day per week and that only for a short time. So much for CCAC. Alex Tough, Georgetown OPINION As a francophone living in Georgetown for the past year and a half, I wanted to take a moment to congratulate So- nia Labbé and The IFP for giving a little space in your newspaper for the growing francophone community that is part of Georgetown. We were very happy to see this new section appear in the newspa- per recently and look forward to seeing it grow and bring the francophone com- munity together. Bravo Sonia et merci de l'initiative, au plaisir de continuer a en apprendre sur ce qui se passe en francais a Georgetown! Francis Richard & Melanie Tremblay Re: Georgetown Bread Basket High School Cook-off On March 28 the Real Canadian Su- perstore and the President's Choice Cook- ing school sponsored the Georgetown Bread Basket High School Cook-off. The purpose of the event is to bring awareness to the types of foods that are commonly found at the food bank and the foods that we are typically short on. Also to get some creative recipes from the students. CTK and GDHS put together a team of chefs and with limited food selec- tion and time came up with some deli- cious recipes. These recipes will be featured in the What's Cookin' Section of the IFP in com- ing weeks. This was all made possible by the generosity of the PC cooking school who provided the venue for the event as well as the staff to manage it. Also the Superstore provided all the food and also sent three grocery carts full of food to the food bank. So a big thank you to Lori Gysel (PC cooking School) and John Cservenyak (RCCS Georgetown) for taking this idea and making it happen. Also can't forget the teachers and students from the two high schools who really cooked up a storm and made it a really fun event. Jacqui Gomez, Director Georgetown Bread Basket Letters must include the author's name, address and daytime phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publication is not guaranteed. Email: cvernon@metroland.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters policy Merci et bravo