A TROON author and former stand-up comedian will front a powerful new TV advert to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer in memory of his dad.

Gavin Oattes lost his superhero dad Eric Oattes to the illness eight years, aged 65.

Now he plans to increase awareness of disease, with November being pancreatic cancer awareness month while Thursday, November 19 marks World Pancreatic Cancer Day.

Gavin has teamed up with Pancreatic Cancer Action Scotland (PCAS) together with STV and producer Proud Motion to create a new television advert which first aired on Monday, November 16.

The advert displays a clear and stark message as the charity bids to make the 2020s the decade of change for pancreatic cancer.

Gavin said: “My dad was amazing. He was my hero. When he died, it put a lot of stuff into perspective. It made me reassess, rethink and reimagine a lot of things in my life at the time.”

The author, who now lives in Edinburgh, raised more than £3,000 back in April for the charity thanks to an virtual marathon - where neighbours on his street helped him clock up 102 miles.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth biggest killer of all cancers but receives some of the smallest funding into research of all cancers.

The average life expectancy is six months, but Gavin’s dad fought on for 16 months.

Seeing his hero suffer in the way he did drove Gavin to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer – a disease he knew nothing about until his dad’s diagnosis.

As well as fronting the TV advert, Gavin has fundraised for PCAS and he’s joined their Scottish Development Committee, a group determined to drive real change for patients and families in Scotland affected by the disease.

The charity hope the advert can shine light on some of the symptoms to look out for.

Early diagnosis is key to survival. With no current screening test or early detection method, being aware of the symptoms and risks being aware of the symptoms and risks of pancreatic cancer and acting quickly on any persistent symptoms can make all the difference.

Fiona Brown, Development Manager of PCAS, said: “Pancreatic cancer doesn’t present in an obvious way. It’s not possible to feel a lump like other cancers and the symptoms often dismissed as less serious health concerns.

“We are very grateful to Gavin volunteering to be in the powerful advert, openly sharing the raw emotion of his experience of sadly losing his dad to pancreatic cancer. We hope the advert encourages people to take action in learning more about pancreatic cancer and ultimately help save lives.”