Kerry Harvey, face of 'I wish I had cancer' campaign, dies from pancreatic cancer aged 24
Tributes have flooded in for Kerry, who passed away on Saturday after a ten-month battle with the disease
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Your support makes all the difference.Kerry Harvey, the face of a controversial pancreatic cancer campaign that showed sufferers of the disease wishing they had other types of cancer, has died aged 24.
The charity Pancreatic Cancer Action (PCA) confirmed Kerry passed away on Saturday, 10 months after being diagnosed.
In a statement, the charity said: “Kerry was a brave and courageous young woman who touched so many hearts. Since her diagnosis in April 2013, she devoted a significant amount of time to raising awareness of pancreatic cancer.
“She has campaigned with selfless vigour and, despite being very ill, has faced criticism for her contribution to our most recent awareness campaign. Her strength and fortitude we and other pancreatic cancer sufferers everywhere, their families and friends are very grateful for."
Tributes flooded in on Twitter today after Kerry became the focal point of a striking advert last month. Many called for people to sign an e-petition asking the government to increase funding and awareness for pancreatic cancer, which currently has over 35,000 signatures.
Kerry was featured in the PCA’s ‘envy’ campaign, which was commissioned by the charity to highlight the disease's poor survival rates when compared to more common types of cancer. In one, a picture of Kerry was accompanied by the quote: “I wish I had breast cancer”.
Just three per cent of people with pancreatic cancer are alive five years after diagnosis, compared with 85 per cent for breast cancer victims and 97 per cent for men suffering from testicular cancer, the advert says.
However, the campaign faced criticism across social media, with many branding the campaign as insensitive to those suffering with another form of cancer, and cancer charities arguing that one type of the disease should not be compared to the other.
At the time Ali Stunt, the charity's founder - diagnosed herself with pancreatic cancer in 2007 at the age of 41 – staunchly defended the campaign.
Speaking to The Independent, Ms Stunt said: "All types of cancer are horrific and no one would wish to be affected in any form.
"Anyone who has been affected - our hearts go out to them."
"These adverts feature real patients. Kerry for instance is particularly poorly. And what these patients are wishing for are better odds than those they are facing."
Kerry had appeared on the television show This Morning two weeks ago to discuss why she chose to to share her story in the campaign.
“When I first got diagnosed, we were given the prognosis from my doctor and told that only three per cent of people make it past five years", she said.
"I know through friends and family who have had breast cancer that the survival rate from that, as long as it’s not inflammatory breast cancer or secondary, which is a lot worse, is 85 per cent, so if I was going to have cancer of course I wish I had one with a better survival rate."
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