Take the test in Bowel Cancer Awareness month

4th April 2017

Stockport resident Maureen Rackham is a big fan of the bowel cancer screening kits because one quite literally saved her life.

But Maureen knows that her forgetfulness means it could have been a very different story.

The 69 year old was sent a screening kit through the post when she was around 65 but although her husband sent his back, she forgot all about it.

Thankfully, when her next kit arrived two years later, she did it straight away and sent it back for the screening check.

She had no symptoms, and felt perfectly well, but the screening detected that she had early stage bowel cancer that was treatable.

Maureen from Cheadle Hulme said: “I can’t believe I was so daft to forget such an important thing. Maybe we all have such busy lives that it is easily done but I will never forget to do it again.

“I had nine months of treatment and worry before I got the all clear. Chances are if I’d done the test two years earlier it would have been picked up at an even earlier stage and so could have been dealt with easily.

“So please take heed from someone who knows what they are talking about. When your kit arrives don’t put it to one side thinking that you’ll do it another day. Leave it out in your bathroom as a constant reminder so you don’t forget.

“They are so simple to use and could save your life!”

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness month and health experts are asking everyone to help the NHS increase the number of people who beat it.

Dr Vicci Owen-Smith, Stockport CCG’s Clinical Director for Public Health, said “Cancer survival rates are improving continually but early detection is vitally important if we’re to keep up the good work.

“If you take up all the health screenings that are offered, you are far more likely to pick up any potential problems early and be successfully treated.”

Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer and particularly affects the over 50s but with early diagnosis, nine out of ten people survive it.

Making use of your free NHS bowel cancer screening kit, sent to everyone over 60 every two years, is one great way of picking cancer up early. The test can spot cancers you can’t see or feel, so don’t just ignore it – use it and send it back.

But everyone, including those who are screened, can help themselves by looking out for symptoms that could be a sign that things aren’t right.

Symptoms vary but if you spot one or more of the following then see your GP quickly

• A change in bowel habit for a few weeks or more
• Looser, softer or more frequent pooing
• Blood in your poo
• A pain or lump in your tum or bottom, or a straining feeling in your bottom
• Unexplained weight loss or extreme tiredness.

Most of the time these symptoms will have another less worrying explanation, but if it is cancer the quicker you get it treated, the sooner you can get on with your life.

For more information you can phone 0800 707 6060 free of charge, go online at www.bowelscreening.org  or speak to your GP.