My father, Roger Best was just 50 years old when he was diagnosed with stage 3-4 oesophageal cancer. Further tests also indicated that it had spread to abdominal lymph nodes, stomach and liver. A month after diagnosis he began a grueling course of chemotherapy ECX. His quality of life began to deteriorate. Roger remained positive and hopeful that the treatment would work. Unfortunately 3 months and 10 day after diagnosis, and only after completing 3 cycles of chemotherapy he lost his battle with oesophageal cancer.

 

Here are the reasons your donations will help:

-       My father had acid reflux for approximately 6 years prior to diagnosis. We need to raise awareness of this cancer and ensure stricter screening procedures are in place for sufferers of acid reflux/ heartburn. I believe the earliest symptom is acid reflux/ heartburn. It is too costly for the NHS to carry out endoscopic investigation on every sufferer of acid reflux. We need research, which will create a procedure, which is both cost effective and non-invasive.

-       My father received medication for his acid reflux but there were no warning signs until it was too late. With better screening procedures more patients receiving medication could undergo investigation in hope of detecting the cancer and the earliest possible stage.

-       Approximately 6 weeks before diagnosis my father began to experience the warning symptoms: tiredness, exhaustion, rapid weight loss, pain whilst eating and after eating, difficulty swallowing food and the feeling that food was getting stuck in his oesophagus. It is very common to only diagnose this cancer when symptoms of the advanced stages present themselves.

-       Upon diagnosis we was told this cancer had progressed over years.

-       Surgery was not an option due to the presence of metastasis. Even with surgery the chances of survival past 5- 10 years is slim.

-       ECX was a trio of chemotherapeutics. We need better treatment options for this cancer. We can only achieve this with research for which we need funding for.

-       Cancer research UK. Oesophgeal cancer is within the top 10 most common cancers in the UK. It is more common in men than women. Oesophageal cancer is also within the top 10 most common causes of cancer death in UK. The chance of surviving one year past diagnosis is around 40% with approximately 12% surviving 5 or more years. Once the cancer has spread it become incurable. This cancer has a poor outlook, as it is often not diagnosed in time for any intervention to work.

I want to help raise awareness of this cancer so that fewer people have to go through what my father and our family went through. I believe that early detection is the most important factor in increasing survival. When you think of how many people suffer from acid reflux and heartburn everyday its quite substantial. If you suffer with acid reflux/ heartburn or know a loved one/ friend/ colleague who does ensure that you express your concerns with your GP and encourage them to do the same.

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