Another Legendary Actor Is Lost To Pancreatic Cancer

Richard Hatch Dies from the Deadliest Major Cancer with a Five-year Survival Rate of Only 9 Percent

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — (Feb. 7, 2017) Multiple news sources report that Richard Hatch, best known for playing Captain Apollo on the original “Battlestar Galactica” TV series, died today from pancreatic cancer.

Hatch’s death comes less than two weeks after fellow sci-fi legend John Hurt died of the same disease.

Pancreatic cancer has the lowest five-year survival rate of any major cancer, at only 9 percent. In 2017, an estimated 53,670 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the United States, and approximately 43,090 will die from it.

“We continue to lose prominent people to this disease who have shaped our lives and culture,” said Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA, president and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN). “We must bring more awareness to pancreatic cancer by continuing to amplify the national conversation, and we must raise more funds in order to see a scientific breakthrough that changes the course of this deadly disease.”

Hatch joins a growing list of other actors, musicians and notable public figures who’ve succumbed to pancreatic cancer, including Alan Rickman and Patrick Swayze.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network has an urgent goal to improve outcomes for patients battling the disease today and double survival by 2020. Their bold and comprehensive approach to Wage Hope through research, patient services, advocacy and community action support critical initiatives like Precision Promise, Know Your Tumor and the Patient Registry.

There is no one way to defeat pancreatic cancer. It will take an all-out effort. By working together, the nation can break new ground, push boundaries, change rules, command attention, empower change, and uplift lives.

Support the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s urgent goal to double survival by 2020. Follow the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.