Rugby and Bulkington MP Mark Pawsey is supporting Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer’s campaign to help raise awareness of bowel cancer symptoms as part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month this April.
More than 44 people die from bowel cancer every day in the UK making it the nation’s second biggest cancer killer. However, it shouldn’t be. Bowel cancer is treatable and curable, especially if diagnosed early. Nearly everyone diagnosed at the earliest stage will survive bowel cancer but this drops significantly as the disease develops. Early diagnosis really does save lives, but only around 15% of people are diagnosed at the earliest stage.
Being aware of key symptoms and visiting your GP if things don’t feel right can help increase chances of an early diagnosis. However, according to a recent poll commissioned of 4,000 UK adults by the charity, more than 1 in 3 people (35%) were not aware of any symptoms at all.
The symptoms of bowel cancer can include: bleeding from your bottom and/or blood in your poo, a persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit, unexplained weight loss, extreme tiredness for no obvious reason or a pain or lump in your tummy.
Mark commented:
“The Hospital of St Cross in Rugby is home to the Bowel Cancer Screening Hub, which has been nationally recognised for the excellent and easy to understand service they provide. Particularly when dealing with something as significant as a potential cancer diagnosis, communicating clearly with patients to help them understand results is vital and I pay tribute to the hard work of staff and volunteers at the Hospital of St Cross for the tireless work they do on our behalf.”
Mark continued:
“As Rugby and Bulkington’s MP, I am committed to increasing awareness of bowel cancer symptoms, both locally and nationally. If anyone is worried that something is wrong, they should visit their GP – they will want to see you. Your GP may be able to put your mind at rest or refer you for further testing, which is vital as early diagnosis really does save lives.”
Asha Kaur, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer, added:
“I’d like to thank Mark for supporting our campaign during Bowel Cancer Awareness Month to increase awareness of key bowel cancer symptoms. Every 15 minutes in the UK someone is diagnosed with bowel cancer. That’s almost 42,000 people every year. But it’s treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early.”
Visit Bowel Cancer UK or Beating Bowel Cancer’s website to find out how you can get involved in their campaign for Bowel Cancer Awareness Month: www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk or www.beatingbowelcancer.org