February is oesophageal cancer awareness month. Over 500 people are diagnosed with oesophageal cancer every year in Ireland. You can reduce your risk of oesophageal cancer by not smoking tobacco or tobacco products, cutting out alcohol and maintaining a healthy weight. Other risk factors include having a condition called Barrett’s oesophagus, reflux (where stomach acid flows back into the oesophagus from the stomach) and having received radiotherapy treatment in the past.
If you have symptoms such as difficulty swallowing, weight loss, indigestion that doesn’t go away, unexplained tiredness, hoarseness, or coughing or vomiting up blood, contact your doctor for advice.
The Oesophageal Cancer Fund provides a number of resources for your use:
- Social media assets: https://ocf.ie/media-resources/
- Patient supports: https://ocf.ie/patient-support/#patient-support
- Research: https://ocf.ie/research
Please contact [email protected] for more information.