February - Oesophageal Cancer Awareness Month

This is a plea for volunteers for Oesophageal Cancer Awareness Month - February 2016.

It is one year on from the national Be Clear on Cancer campaign in 2015, and Action Against Heartburn are planning a campaign that aims to visit as many pharmacies as possible in, broadly, the Greater London area during the month of February to distribute leaflets explaining the risks of persistent heartburn, Barrett's Oesophagus, and oesophageal cancer. The reason for visiting pharmacies is that the target audience are those who are very regular purchasers of Gaviscon and other heartburn remedies, and it is likely to be those who are at most risk of having undiagnosed Barrett's Oesophagus.

So anybody can help with this. It does not matter when in February you do this. But we would like volunteers who could undertake visits to local pharmacies in their area. We would send a pack containing leaflets, pharmacy bag inserts, a leaflet dispenser, a briefing sheet for pharmacy staff, lapel badges, patient information sheets and posters. Plus a set of instructions.

Posters can be put up anywhere. Dental surgeries and GP surgeries are also good places, as are libraries and any other places where they will be noticed. It follows the lines of a campaign the OPA did in Norwich and Norfolk.

This is a very flexible thing that you can do at your own pace.

We are also planning radio adverts for the London area during February

If you would like to volunteer to help, please contact me with the location you would be interested in dealing with [e-mail]

As a separate thing, we are also looking for people who would not mind telling their stories for newspapers or on the radio.

Thank you so much for your help!

[hilr]

Hi Alan

I have emailed you.

Hilary

[gutlesswonder]

Count me in Alan -- I have emailed you with the relevant post codes.

[bigemu]

Hi,

I'm in the North east but would be willing to talk to people about the situation and life afterwards...which is good

[Hidden]

Thank you for those responses. We'll send out packs anywhere and are grateful for your support. We are hoping for more volunteers from the Greater London area and are sending out information to local groups based in and around London.

[RobinAylott in reply to Hidden]

Hi Ala, I'd love to start something like this in Australia - any pointers?

[Hidden in reply to RobinAylott]

I'll contact you direct, but a) get support of the surgeons/hospitals/ gatsroenterologists/ phamracists, b) try and get the support of the health system, and especially the GPs.

[gnarls]

Hi There,

My Father died of this cancer last year, approximately a year after diagnosis.

The family are destroyed.

People who take Gavascon daily need to be checked out.

[mageesnow]

Have emailed you with my offer of help.

[Mayan]

Hi Alan more than willing to help with leaflets etc I live in Essex and will e_mail with my postcode

[Hidden in reply to Mayan]

That's great. Thank you so much.

Alan

[Aussiepete]

Likewise. I'm happy to speak to anyone at any stage of their journey / rollercoaster trip.

I'm in West London (W4)

[Blossomstix]

Hi Alan

Don't yet have the energy to go around with posters but could do a few around the Richmond area. Also I am happy to share my story as I am keen on making the public aware on OC. I had the usual drama of 3 doctors not diagnosing me, losing 6 months on that and then whole range of treatments (8 chemo's, 25 radiations, 12 hour MIO, 3 dilatations, 1 injection into my vocal chord, 1 lung inflammation from rad, 2 post-op pneumonia, etc etc). I am 53 and I have son of 11. I am 5 months post-op. I consider myself well informed about the cancer, the different types, trials, etc).