<p>Oesophageal cancer has a poor prognosis with an overall survival rate of approximately 10 per cent. The most debilitating and distressing symptom associated with this disease is dysphagia and, given the poor prognosis, maintaining patients’ quality of life is of prime importance. This article focuses on the use of self-expanding metal stents which are often used to relieve the experience of dysphagia for these patients. It describes an audit of a care pathway in the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust which demonstrated an improvement in the coordination of care.</p>