The Three Bears foundation was founded in 2018 in memory of Jane Burn who lost her life to pancreatic cancer.
Jane had stomach, digestive symptoms and back ache which were easy to put down to something else. The symptoms are so common, that they go unnoticed for many pancreatic cancer sufferers until it is too late. Jane was diagnosed late August, and tragically passed away Dec 2017.
Given that pancreatic cancer is one of the common cancers with the lowest survival rate, family and friends of Jane Burn wanted to make a real difference and help to transform the future for others.
It began with the New York Marathon where 17 places were secured in aid of Pancreatic Cancer UK. The togetherness and rallying round that the marathon inspired was something that Jane was all about.
Rooted in family, bringing the community together, the Three Bears Foundation was set up along with many more fundraising events that inspire connections as well as raising funds.
The family got so much support from friends and the people of York when they received the news that Jane had tragically lost her life. After a long discussion at the Ebor pub it was decided that the group together could make a significant difference, and The Three Bears foundation was formed.
Mark Burn is the late husband of Jane. He thought that they had all the time in the world together during retirement to look forward to, this was tragically cut short. Since Jane’s diagnosis, he has spent time doing as much as he can to make a difference to the outcomes of others for pancreatic cancer.
His relentless efforts and networking have helped spread the word about the Three Bears Foundation and our co-funded Pancreatic Research Project – In memory of Jane.
Chris was 23 when he lost his mum to pancreatic cancer in December 2017. Soon after, he co-founded the Three Bears Foundation with his dad and close friends to raise awareness and funds.
Since then, Chris has completed the New York Marathon (2018) and the London Marathon (2025), raising nearly £10,000 for Pancreatic Cancer UK. His efforts were recognised with the charity’s Purple Star Award in 2019, and the togetherness the foundation inspires continues to honour his mum’s legacy and memory.
Andy met Mark at a networking event in 2023, and after hearing Mark’s story of how he had lost his wife in just 10 weeks of a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, he knew that he wanted to do something to support the Three Bears Foundation. Having lost extended family to cancer Andy was delighted to be asked to be a trustee.
He brings energy, drive and structure, plus he is heavily involved in the local business network, spreading the word and raising awareness is a large part of his input.
Roxy met Mark networking in York and quickly learnt how amazing this ‘family started’ foundation was and they totally captured her.
So when the foundation needed some assistance with the accountancy, as a mortgage and financial advisor, she was happy to help out. One thing led to another and she was keen to do more to support them so she organised the first Three Bears winter ball in 2022 which was a huge hit, and now a key event organiser at Three Bears!
Joe is a founding trustee of the foundation. Having been friends with Chris since High School – Joe had become part of the Burn family. After Janes passing he knew he wanted to help the foundation. His input and skillset is part of the reason we have achieved what we have.
2018 New York Marathon Finisher.
Peter became involved with Three Bears in early 2023 after Chris reached out and asked if he would join the team. They played cricket together since the age of 9, and Peter has warm memories of Jane ferrying them to and from matches, and tea at home after.
Peter has 6 years experience as a junior doctor, and now works in the medical device sector. This has given him first-hand experience caring for patients with pancreatic cancer and their families. The current outcomes and prognoses for pancreatic cancer patients are far worse than most adult cancers. Being part of a team that are working hard to help see this improve is a privilege.
Peter’s role in the team is to look after the medical side of the foundation. This involves providing talks and presentations to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer and why funding is so desperately needed.
All of the trustees are so incredibly proud of the Three Bears Research Fellow project that we have co funded with York St John University.
This 3 year research is taking us one step closer to finding a cure for pancreatic cancer. We are contributing £20,000 per year for the next three years which is also being match funded by the University.