Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in April
Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer yet it’s a disease which is often overlooked and diagnosed too late. Every year around 16,000 people die of the disease.
2016 marks the ten year anniversary of the introduction of bowel cancer screening in England designed to identify bowel cancer in people who have no symptoms. Screening is available every two years to people aged 60 – 74.
Chris Groves, Director of Screening for South West London Bowel Cancer Screening Centre at St George’s Hospital, said “We were pioneers of bowel screening at its inception and have successfully treated hundreds of screen detected cancers with almost universally successful outcome. This often silent disease can be found in its early stages by use of a simple test at home but many people are put off by the thought of providing a stool sample. We strongly encourage participation in the screening programme and are constantly working on ways of making it easier for patients to do so. There should be no excuse for ignoring this opportunity, if you are between 60 and 74 years of age you will receive a postal invitation every two years. Make sure you, your friends and relatives help us to beat bowel cancer”
Although bowel cancer affects more than one in 20 people in their lifetime, of those who get the disease, nine out of ten people survive if it is caught early. Be aware of symptoms of bowel cancer which include; Bleeding from the bottom and/or blood in your poo; A change in your normal bowel habit lasting three weeks or more especially to looser or runny poo; Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason; Unexplained weight loss; A pain or lump in your tummy.
For further advice call Bowel Screening free phone helpline 0800 707 60 60.
From South West London Bowel Cancer Screening Centre. 020 8725 0483 St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The Bowel Cancer team will be holding a stand in the main reception on Monday 11th, Wednesday 20th and Thursday 28th between 08:30 -15:30 for anyone who would like to find out more about Bowel Cancer and the screening programmes available at the trust.
