Screen test to defeat cancer

Kay Mellor believes if her brother had taken a simple bowel cancer screening test he could be a live today.

The Syndicate and Fat Friends writer is backing a bowel cancer campaign with a simple message that doing the bowel cancer screening test could be a lifesaver.

NHS Leeds is co-ordinating the campaign, aimed at people aged 60-69, to encourage people to complete the bowel cancer screening test.

Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer and those at greatest risk are people aged over 60.

Screening can identify bowel cancer before symptoms begin, often at an early stage when it can be successfully treated.

“I lost my brother to bowel cancer aged 61,” says Kay who still lives in north Leeds.

“He was such a robust and outgoing character who seemed invincible. He had no idea that he was ill but the doctors said he had been ill for some time. If he had taken one of these tests he could still be alive today,” says Kay who is from Leeds.

“It seems to me that bowel cancer is a disease that can fester away for years before it presents itself, so we have to be proactive in screening ourselves for it, in the same way that women are proactive in screening for breast cancer. The test takes little time and is very easy to do yet it could save your life.

“I applaud the initiative of NHS Leeds and their lifesaver campaign – it is so important that people are aware of this disease and the steps they can take to beat it.”

Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer because many patients are diagnosed too late. Screening can identify bowel cancer before symptoms begin, often at an early stage when it can be successfully treated.

To date, bowel cancer screening has identified over 7,000 cancers, and a further 40,000 polyps (which may have otherwise developed into cancer) have been removed, preventing thousands more. However the current 
take-up rate for screening 
in Leeds is around 50 
per cent, considerably lower than those of the best national cancer screening programmes.

Dr Simon Balmer, head of health protection for NHS Leeds, explains why the new campaign is so important.

“Our campaign message is really simple – the bowel cancer test is a lifesaver,” says Dr Balmber.

“ We are grateful for the support we have from Kay Mellor OBE and hope that their personal experiences will encourage others to complete the test as it could help diagnose bowel cancer before it is too late.”

Anyone aged 60-69 is eligible for a bowel cancer screening test and is sent a testing kit once every two years automatically by the National Cancer Screening Programme.

If anyone is worried about bowel cancer they can speak to their family doctor (GP). Those aged 60-69 can find out more about the bowel cancer screening test by calling the national helpline on 0800 707 6060.

To find out more about the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme visit www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/bowel/.

Signs of potentially deadly disease

The symptoms of large bowel cancer can be:

Bleeding from the back passage (rectum) or blood in your stools;

A lasting change in normal bowel habits towards diarrhoea or looser stools;

A lump in the right side of your abdomen, or in your rectum;

A straining feeling in the rectum;

Losing weight;

Pain in your abdomen or rectum;

Anaemia (a low level of red blood cells), caused by the tumour bleeding. This can lead to feelings of tiredness and sometimes breathlessness.