Norwich surgeon backs gullet and stomach cancer awareness campaign

Saturday, July 21, 2012
2:47 PM

A Norwich hospital consultant is backing a campaign to raise awareness of relatively unknown but increasingly common cancers.

In the Norfolk area, statistics show that 214 people are diagnosed each year with cancers of the gullet (oesophagus) and stomach and in 2010 they caused 170 deaths.

Now the Anglia Cancer Network is aiming to raise awareness of the symptoms and highlighting the importance of going to the doctor as soon as symptoms appear, because cancer caught early can be more treatable.

The network encouraging people to see their doctor if food feels like its sticking their throat when they swallow, or if they have had heartburn or indigestion on and off for three weeks or more.

Edward Cheong, consultant laparoscopic and oesophago-gastric surgeon at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, said: “Early diagnosis is the key to recovery and the Be Clear on Cancer message is simple; you are not wasting anyone’s time by getting your symptoms checked out. Seeing your doctor without delay may save your life.”

Official figures show cancer of the oesophagus, the long tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach, is now the fourth most common cause of cancer death in men, after lung, prostate and bowel, and the sixth most common cause of cancer death in women.

The Be Clear on Cancer campaign is trying to raise awareness of the symptoms of a whole range of cancers.

For more information about the campaign, visit www.nhs.uk/ogcancer