Cancer treatment hailed as 'Holy Grail'

View the full article and STV video report on 17 June 2010

When my husband Jimmy Logan was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2000 we were thrown into a nightmare world of disbelief and panic. Neither of us had any close experience of cancer or the methods of treatment...

Welcome

Ochre has been formed to promote awareness of oesophageal cancer amongst the public, professionals, politicians and patients.

We also intend to encourage research into the causes of oesophageal cancer and to develop information and support services for patients and their families. Upper gastrointestinal cancers are classically detected as advanced tumours and as such have a poor prognosis. A five-year survival rate of only 6% is achieved even with use of radiotherapy and surgery; as such, oesophageal cancer is now the fourth highest cancer killer in the UK and causes around 4,000 deaths each year. There is at present little dedicated research into the causes of oesophageal cancer or ways in which earlier diagnosis can be made.

Ochre is attempting to change this situation and has recently been instrumental in the purchase of a state-of-the-art LIFE-GI (light-induced-fluorescence-endoscopy) system, now in operation at Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow.The system, costing £39,000, is capable of detecting cancerous cells at a very early stage, thereby offering vastly improved chances of survival to oesophageal cancer patients.