Cancer of the Oesophagus / gullet / food pipe

The oesophagus is the tube that goes from your throat to your stomach and is where the food passes after you swallow. Also called the food pipe, it is about 26cm (10.5 inches) long in adults and cancer can develop anywhere along the length of the pipe. Although we don´t know the exact cause of this cancer, there are certain factors that increase our risk of developing oesophageal cancer. This includes certain medical conditions that affect the oesophagus, but also factors relating to our life style (i.e. alcohol, smoking, diet, obesity) and environment (chemicals and pollutants) can increase our risk of developing cancer of the oesophagus. There are different types of oesophageal cancer depending on where it starts and you may want to find out more about a specific type.

To help you find answers to some of your questions, we have linked to Maggie’s CancerLinks where you will be signposted to high quality information about cancer of the oesophagus. The information on these websites is not written specifically for young people but it is written using simple language in a way that most people will be able to understand. Don’t worry if there are lots of links to different websites. Have a look on the description of the links and very often you will find the information you are searching for on the first website that you look at. If you just want general information about cancer you could read the ‘About cancer’ section on riprap.

Remember that the information on these sites is general. Within each cancer type, there are different variations, different stages, different treatments and people may also respond differently to the same treatments. Each person is an individual and because of this, generic information may not fit the situation you are thinking of. Often your parents or someone else who knows the details can answer your questions best. Also, please feel free to get in touch with us here at riprap. We can help you sorting through information or discuss things you’ve heard or read or anything at all that’s on your mind.

Don’t forget that there are lots of effective treatments for cancer these days and many cancers can be completely cured. There are also very good treatments to control cancers that cannot be cured and research is going on all the time to find new treatments that can control and cure cancers.

Page updated 13 July 2017