TORFAEN MP Paul Murphy has called for more action on pancreatic cancer after a constituent helped to trigger a Commons debate to bring the issue to the top of the UK health agenda.

The former Welsh secretary spoke out after figures showed pancreatic cancer only has a three per cent survival rate and gets less than one per cent of the Government’s research spend.

Cwmbran resident Linda Reardon created the Families in Support of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness group in 2011 after losing three members of her family to the disease including her mum Lynn in 2010.

The Llantarnam grandmother and members of her group were able to secure the parliamentary debate last week after they collected more than 100,000 e-signatures.

Twenty eight MPs attended the debate and in her summing up, health minister Jane Ellison assured them pancreatic cancer was not a low priority.

Mr Murphy said: “It was a pleasure to meet with Linda and to hear her story.

“She has done so much to help those affected by this silent killer and to raise money and campaign for Pancreatic Cancer UK.

"She is an absolute credit to her mother, whom she sadly lost to the disease.

“Pancreatic cancer is a disease that kills far too many people and for which very few treatment options are available. Much more needs to be done to improve survival outcomes.”

He added: “In addition to clinical changes within the NHS, we also need to see more research into pancreatic cancer. In particular, the development of early diagnostic screening techniques – like those developed for bowel or prostate cancer.

“These would radically improve the chance of boosting early diagnosis of the disease. In turn this will mean patients are given the best chance of receiving curative surgery.”

Ms Reardon said: “Securing and attending this debate was so important to me.

“In addition to losing my mother in 2010, we lost her cousin to the same disease in November 2004 and then her brother in 2007.

“My mum had just seven weeks from diagnosis after having being misdiagnosed with other complaints such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and indigestion over a two-year period.

“My cousin survived just 12 days. The survival rate has to improve and we can’t wait another 40 years before that happens.”