Yeah! As you know Jackie Beaumont is the Patron and Founder of OOSO. His majesty The King has awarded Jackie the honour of Medal of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) in the 2023 New Year Honours List that was published in the London Gazette (accessed online at www.TheGazette.co.uk).

Needless to say, Jackie is pleased and immensely proud to receive such recognition.

At the time of her diagnosis for Oesophageal Cancer Jackie was a single woman with no family support. This meant that when she was discharged from hospital she was faced with very little social help as her closest friends were based in London. But she was determined to get back up to speed and in doing so became aware of the lack of support that was available to most patients.

Using her personal experience, she established a group to help patients both pre and post op and to fill that void. She co-opted both Nick Maynard and Anne Phillips on to her team and all three helped to iron out the bumps in the road as the group grew in strength and influence.

With increasing patient numbers, and therefore demand, Jackie formalised the group into a charity, and it was registered with the Charity Commission in 2013.

Jackie continued to run the charity until Matt Carter took over the reins when Jackie was appointed as OOSO’s Patron.

Sometimes OOSO seems like an oak tree that has grown from a single acorn. It has grown beyond Jackie’s original vision and, as Patron, Jackie is still delighted to be involved and to applaud the current team who keep the charity healthy and relevant.