The following links may be of use to UGI patients. AUGIS is not responsible for any of the content or advice offered on any of the following websites.

Useful Links

Association for Cancer Surgery BASO ~ ACS is, after the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, the second oldest professional association in British surgery. Founded in 1971, BASO now has more than 700 active members. Recently, we have restyled the association as BASO ~ the Association for Cancer Surgery. www.baso.org.uk

British Obesity Surgical Patient Association A patient support group which provides information to those considering obesity surgery, supports patients post-operatively on their road to improved health and works with health professionals to improve obesity surgery services in the UK. www.bospa.org

Cancercare  An organisation in the United States whose mission is to provide professional help to people with all cancers through counseling, education, information and referral assistance. Founded in 1944, CancerCare provides individual help to more than 90,000 people each year, in addition to the 1.4 million people who get information and resources from its website. www.cancercare.org

Cancer Information Network  United States web based information service including upper GI cancers. This site (The Network) is a non-commercial site founded to provide support and information to cancer patients and their caregivers. www.cancerlinksusa.com

Cancer Research UK Reliable, easy-to-understand patient information www.cancerhelp.org.uk

Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. One in three of us will get cancer. We are all affected by cancer. Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancerbackup merged in April 2008 – furthering the aims of both charities to ensure that, across the UK, everyone affected by cancer gets faster and enhanced access to high-quality information at every stage of their cancer journey. www.macmillan.org.uk

Mesothelioma The Mesothelioma Center is committed to providing the latest, up-to-date information to their visitors in the hopes of spreading awareness about the dangers of asbestos cancer. Our goal is to offer a one-stop resource on all asbestos and mesothelioma-related issues ranging from occupational exposure to treatment options. Visit Asbestos.com today to learn about mesothelioma clinical trials if you or a loved one could have come in contact with asbestos. www.asbestos.com

Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance is a comprehensive resource for those seeking accurate and accredited mesothelioma information. We seek to provide straightforward and balanced clinical mesothelioma cancer and treatment information, as well as resources for those exposed to asbestos. To find out more please visit this site.www.mesothelioma.com

Mesothelioma Prognosis Mesothelioma Prognosis is a leading Internet resource for concise and comprehensive information about the dangers of asbestos exposure and coping with mesothelioma diagnosis. Our website has a two-fold mission: educating our readers on the many issues regarding the prognosis for mesothelioma and providing assistance to anyone who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma. www.mesotheliomaprognosis.org

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) NICE is an independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on promoting good health and treating ill-health. www.nice.org.uk

Pancreatic Cancer UK National charity working for today’s as well as future patients. It aims to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer and to enable research to aid earlier diagnosis and to develop more effective treatment. They run a national support network for those affected by pancreatic cancer including patients, carers and family. Their website has been developed with the help of some of the top specialists in the UK, to provide information on pancreatic cancer to patients, caregivers and GPs. There is much of interest to specialists as well. The website provides a central resource of information on pancreatic cancer, with links to material on other websites in the UK and USA. www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk

Pancreatic Cancer Action 5 year survival rates for pancreatic cancer have not changed in over 40 years and it is our mission to change this by way of increased awareness of pancreatic cancer within the general population, the medical community and the Government. We are developing educational programmes for trainee General Practitioners and are working on creating free Online Interactive Training Materials alongside the Royal College of GPs aimed at practicing clinicians; to help spot the disease earlier and manage the condition better. www.pancreaticcanceraction.org

The Pancreatitis Supporter’s Network Pancreatic Disorders, What’s wrong with my pancreas? Patient information websites written by Professor John Neoptolemos, sponsored by Abbott Healthcare. www.pancreatitis.org.uk

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent organisation which is responsible for giving national guidance in the UK on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill-health.

NICE guidance is developed using the expertise of the NHS and the wider healthcare community including healthcare professionals, patients and carers, industry and the academic world.

The guidance covers three areas of health:

1. Clinical practice – guidance on the appropriate treatment and care of people with specific diseases and conditions within the NHS;
2. Health technologies – guidance on the use of new and existing medicines, treatments and procedures within the NHS;
3. Public health – guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention of ill health for people working in the NHS, local authorities and the wider public and voluntary sectors.

The NICE website – which contains all the guidance – can be found at www.nice.org.uk
Once on the home page a search facility will allow you to access NICE guidance on any health topic. For example, if you type in ‘liver’ you will be able to access the 30 current guidelines relating to the treatment of liver conditions.

An advanced search button can also be used which allows you to tailor a search more closely.

The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) develops evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland. SIGN guidelines are derived from a systematic review of the scientific literature and are designed as a vehicle for accelerating the translation of new knowledge into action to meet its aim of reducing variations in practice, and improving patient-important outcomes.