Category: News

Caring for others is one of the most important and often overlooked roles in our society. Whether you’re a paid professional or an unpaid family member providing essential support, your contribution deserves recognition, support, and appreciation.

That’s why we’re proud to promote the Carers Card UK – a trusted resource that offers carers across the country access to vital tools, meaningful discounts, wellbeing support, and a sense of community. With emergency ID, exclusive offers, and a dedicated app, it’s designed to make life a little easier and more connected for those who spend so much of their time caring for others.

If you’re a carer, this card is for you.
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Our OPA team had the privilege of attending the sensational stage adaptation of Peter James’s Picture You Dead at The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, featuring our esteemed patron, Fiona Wade. We came together for a memorable evening filled with thrills, laughs, and exceptional performances.

The Story Behind the Play
Adapted by Shaun McKenna and directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, Picture You Dead marks the seventh stage adaptation of Peter James’s DSI Roy Grace novels. The gripping narrative kicks off when everyday couple Freya and Harry Kipling (portrayed by Fiona Wade and Ben Cutler) stumble upon what appears to be a decades-old masterpiece at a car boot sale—only to be plunged into the dark underworld of art forgery, murder, and deception. Meanwhile, seasoned detective DSI Roy Grace (George Rainsford) and DS Bella Moy (Gemma Stroyan) are on the case, tracing the painting’s trail into criminal intrigue.

OPA’s Take
Our OPA staff left the theatre thrilled by the clever plot, powerful performances, and the pure theatrical talent on display. Watching Fiona command the stage was a special highlight. We’re proud to see her shine in such a top-tier production, and grateful for the chance to support her artistic journey.

Tour Dates & Booking Info
Picture You Dead is performing at major venues throughout July. For dates and tickets, head to – https://www.peterjames.com/plays/picture-you-dead-tour-dates/

This meeting addressed growing demand after the final and positive UK NICE recommendations on use of RefluxStop in NHS public hospitals

Implantica AG (publ.), a MedTech company at the forefront of treatment for acid reflux with its unique device RefluxStop™, a treatment field with 1 billion sufferers, announces the successful first UK National Users Meeting bringing together 21 top anti-reflux experts in UK last week. Surgeons exchanged their real-world experiences and delved into the positive National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations on using RefluxStop in NHS hospitals, opening a vast opportunity for RefluxStop procedures in patients with poor motility, representing up to 40-50%1 of the acid reflux (GERD/GORD) sufferers.

Mr. Ahmed Ahmed, a renowned anti-reflux surgeon at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, says, “As more and more patients ask for RefluxStop, I’m very pleased to play a part in this unique opportunity to collaborate with my colleagues to offer the latest and greatest treatment options to our GERD patients, such as RefluxStop. I’m already seeing a rapidly growing demand for RefluxStop, in line with excellent outcomes achieved in my current RefluxStop patients. The recent positive NICE recommendations now allow the use of RefluxStop in NHS hospitals, which is a testament to the UK healthcare system’s prioritization and focus on making the best treatments available to UK patients as soon as possible. On behalf of the GERD community, I would like to thank NICE and all involved stakeholders for their dedication to helping GERD patients who truly need effective treatment for this debilitating disease.”

Founder and CEO of Implantica, Dr. Peter Forsell, adds, “We sincerely thank and appreciate the world-leading healthcare policy advisory body, UK NICE, for their extensive and thorough review and announcement of the final positive recommendations for the RefluxStop™ procedure. Given how rampant GERD is in the UK, with up to 20% of the adult population struggling with the persistent discomfort and pain from the disease, the NICE recommendations for RefluxStop procedure couldn’t be more appreciated among UK specialists, addressing the huge unmet need and treatment gap, especially for the GERD patients who have poor dysmotility.¹

Dr Forsell continues, “I’m truly impressed by the great enthusiasm for RefluxStop™ from the esteemed UK surgeons and other experts. Following the highly successful UK RefluxStop™ users meeting where several UK surgeons presented their excellent outcomes and patient satisfaction results, and now with the very supportive NICE recommendations, it’s clear to me that RefluxStop™ will transform the reflux treatment landscape in the UK, and ultimately worldwide, in the coming future.”
1Shih-Chi Ho et al., Ineffective esophageal motility is a primary motility disorder in gastroesophageal reflux disease. Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 2002. 47(3): 652-6

Visit www.implantica.com for further information.

This Will Challenge is brought to you by Emma Gray at Rainbow Hunting.

Emma’s Story

When my husband Simon was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in December 2013, my world changed overnight. I was suddenly faced with the harsh reality of caring for a terminally ill partner while balancing intense oncology treatments, raising our two children, and continuing my work. Losing Simon – my husband and soulmate – in July 2016, left me heartbroken and plunged into a world of grief, depression, and profound loneliness.

My Journey to Becoming a Life Coach
Just weeks before the pandemic began in 2020, I left my stable career in law to begin training in counselling. This marked the beginning of a two-year journey of unlearning societal norms, immersing myself in psychological theory, and realising that therapists and coaches don’t “fix” people’s problems.

Instead, I discovered the transformative power of holding space – of being present, facing difficult conversations, and allowing healing to unfold within a secure, compassionate, and non-judgemental relationship. I now apply all I’ve learned, including additional training in grief support, in my work as a grief and life coach. I specialise in helping clients navigate both the emotional realities of loss and the practical side – what I call the “Sadmin” – while learning to grow a meaningful life around grief.

 
The 4-day FREE Will Challenge is designed to help you focus on updating or creating a new Will. The challenge will: 

This workshop is being held at Hope Community Church, Deveron Way, Hinckley, LE10 0XD on Tuesday 10th June 2025 @ 10:00 – 13:00

This relaxed, informative session is open to anyone affected by cancer, no matter what stage they are at in their journey, and will offer practical, no-cost strategies to help improve sleep and reduce fatigue.

Led by Clinical Sleep Scientist Louise Peers, the workshop explores what healthy sleep looks like and why it often gets disrupted, everyday changes that can improve rest and boost energy levels, and tools and techniques for better sleep hygiene.

Dear Friends,

We’re delighted to share news of the upcoming OPA Meeting.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, 7th June, 2025, from 12:00 pm to 14:30 pm. We will be gathering at the C P Hart premises, located at Newnham Terrace, Hercules Road, London, SE1 7DR.

For your convenience, here are the venue particulars:

  • C P Hart is conveniently situated within a 10-minute walk from Waterloo Station
  • 2 minutes away from Lambeth North Tube Station.

Light refreshments will be provided during the meeting.

 

Agenda

12:00pm – 12:30pm – Welcome, and opening comments, introduction and update re OPA by John Campolini (Chair)

12:30pm – 14:00pm – Telling Your Story: Personal Journeys with Oesophageal and Gastric Cancer

14:00pm – Farewell and closedown of meeting

 

If you would like to attend this meeting, please reserve your place via Eventbrite here.

These tickets are first come, first served.

We look forward to seeing you!

We’re excited to share the Spring 2025 edition of the OPA Cancer Charity Magazine. This issue features powerful personal stories, key updates on awareness efforts, and practical advice for patients and supporters.

Highlights include:

  • Awareness Month campaign highlights
  • Inspiring stories from patients and fundraisers
  • News of our refreshed booklets for patients and carers
  • Guidance on inheritance tax and legacy giving
  • Details of our next London support meeting

Read the full magazine here.

Implantica AG (publ.), a medtech company at the forefront of introducing advanced technology into the body, including the unique device RefluxStop™ for the treatment of acid reflux, a treatment field with 1 billion sufferers, announces another Center of Excellence in Spain to offer RefluxStop™, H. Univ. Marqués de Valdecilla, in Cantabria region in Spain.

The leading surgeon, Dra. Sonia Castanedo, recently performed the first RefluxStop™ procedures at H. Univ. Marqués de Valdecilla in Santander, Cantabria, Spain. Dra. Castanedo was supported by Dra. Marisol Trugeda and Surgery Manager, Dr. Juan Carlos Rodríguez San Juan.

  1. Univ. Marqués de Valdecilla is the flagship hospital of Cantabria, situated in northern Spain. The hospital was founded nearly 100 years ago and today is a leading center for research focused on innovative new therapies like RefluxStop™.

Dra. Castanedo says, “The RefluxStop™ procedure makes a durable surgical treatment for GERD available to a whole new group of patients who were previously not candidates for traditional anti-reflux surgery. The published results of the RefluxStop™ procedure are extraordinary, and I have experienced them firsthand now. Many of my patients have struggled with severe GERD, which has become a really punishing disease. It’s really great to finally have a surgical treatment I can offer to my patients in the Cantabria region.”

CEO and founder of Implantica, Dr. Peter Forsell, says, “It’s truly promising to see the quickly growing demand for RefluxStop™ from leading surgeons such as Dra. Castanedo and the team at H. Univ. Marqués de Valdecilla. As a surgeon myself, I support her drive to answer the urgent call for a surgical procedure that works for these patients, who have had too few treatment options for too many years.”

Dr. Forsell continues, “Approximately 15% of the adult population in Spain suffers from GERD1 and for about 40% of them, medication won’t stop the painful symptoms of the disease.2 This leaves a massive need for a well working surgical treatment, which until now was only available to a select few GERD patients. RefluxStop™ does not encircle the food passageway thus making it available to countless more GERD patients who need relief. I can’t wait to see how this makes a difference for patients in Cantabria and beyond.”

  1. Ponce J, Vegazo O, Beltrán B, Jiménez J, Zapardiel J, Calle D, Piqué JM; Iberge Study Group. Prevalence of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in Spain and associated factors. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2006 Jan 1;23(1):175-84. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2006.02733.x. PMID: 16393295.
  2. Kahrilas PJ, Boeckxstaens G, Smout AJ. Management of the patient with incomplete response to PPI therapy. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2013 Jun;27(3):401-14. doi: 10.1016/j.bpg.2013.06.005. PMID: 23998978; PMCID: PMC3761380.

For further information, please contact:
Nicole Pehrsson, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
Telephone (CH): +41 (0)79 335 09 49
nicole.pehrsson@implantica.com

Implantica is listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market in Stockholm.

The company’s Certified Adviser is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se

The information was sent for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, on April 23, 2025, at 08:00 a.m. (CET).

About Implantica
Implantica is a medtech group dedicated to bringing advanced technology into the body. Implantica’s lead product, RefluxStop™, is a CE-marked implant for the prevention of gastroesophageal reflux that will potentially create a paradigm shift in anti-reflux treatment as supported by successful clinical trial results. Implantica also focuses on eHealth inside the body and has developed a broad, patent protected, product pipeline based partly on two platform technologies: an eHealth platform designed to monitor a broad range of health parameters, control treatment from inside the body and communicate to the caregiver on distance and a wireless energizing platform designed to power remote-controlled implants wirelessly through intact skin. Implantica is listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market (ticker: IMP A SDB). Visit www.implantica.com for further information.

About RefluxStop™
RefluxStop™ is a new innovative treatment that has the potential to spur a paradigm shift in anti-reflux surgery. It’s unique mechanism of action differentiates it from standard of care and current surgical solutions. Longer established surgical options for GORD involve encircling the food passageway to support the lower oesophageal sphincter’s closing mechanism and are commonly associated with side effects such as swallowing difficulties, pain when swallowing and inability to belch and/or vomit.

In contrast, the RefluxStop™ device treats the cause of acid reflux without encircling and putting pressure on the food passageway. It restores and maintains the lower oesophageal sphincter in its original, natural position.

The RefluxStop™ mechanism of action is focused on reconstructing all three components of the anti-reflux barrier, that if compromised could possibly result in acid reflux. It restores and supports the natural anatomical physiology of the body allowing the body to itself solve the problem with acid reflux.

This article is from- Implantica opens a new RefluxStop™ center in a new region of Spain, addressing the fast-growing demand – Implantica

Nicholas Penney, Consultant Oesophagogastric Surgeon and Robotics Specialist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NNUH), will be a featured speaker at the upcoming AfPP Robotics Symposium being held at NNUH on Wednesday, June 11.

His session, titled “Development of an Oesophagogastric Robotic Service”, will explore the establishment of the robotic surgery programme at NNUH, the challenges faced, and the valuable insights gained along the way. Additionally, he will present a case study detailing the hospital’s first robotic-assisted oesophagectomy.

Leading the future of robotic surgery

Nicholas has recently been appointed as the Training Programme Director for Robotic Surgery for the East of England, where he will play a vital role in mentoring and training the next generation of robotic surgeons. His expertise in advanced laparoscopic and robotic surgery includes oesophagogastric cancer treatment, gallbladder disease, hiatus hernia repair, anti-reflux surgery, and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Since joining NNUH as a Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon in 2023, Nicholas has been instrumental in expanding the hospital’s robotic surgical capabilities. After qualifying from Imperial College London, he undertook higher surgical training in Surrey and Sussex. He gained further expertise in oesophagogastric cancer resections at the Royal Surrey County Hospital and the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne, one of Europe’s largest oesophagogastric cancer centres. During his time in Newcastle, he completed a Fellowship in Robotic Surgery under Professor Immanuel.

This article is from National Worl, click here to continue reading.