The OPA provides support to patients and their families who have been diagnosed with oesophageal or gastric cancer. It also campaigns to raise the awareness of these illnesses so that an early diagnosis – and better chance of survival - can be achieved.
The OPA support patients and carers through the telephone helpline, by providing information on the website and in our series of booklets, and through our patient support groups.
Our booklets, which are endorsed by medical experts, are sent free of charge to anyone who asks for them and to clinical staff at NHS hospitals, Maggie’s Centres and Macmillan Centres.
Our support groups, run by volunteers, provide an opportunity for patients and carers to meet one another and discuss their experiences as well as to listen to guest speakers, such as surgeons or dieticians.
The OPA also try to make people aware that certain symptoms should not be dismissed as just the effect of age or an unhealthy diet, but should prompt a visit to a doctor.
