A Wigan bowel cancer survivor has urged others not to spurn a potentially life-saving test kit
It’s still frightening to imagine what might have happened to her if she hadn’t used a bowel cancer test kit sent to her through the post, a Wigan gran said today.
For a tumour might have grown and spread to an incurable level had not Joanne Vernon caught it when she did.
That’s why the 56-year-old health care assistant from Hindley Green is helping to spearhead a new health campaign from North West Cancer Research called I’m Here Today which highlights the importance of bowel screening kits.
Across the UK, bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with people over 50 facing the highest risk.
In the North West, it is the second biggest cause of cancer deaths; however, screening can help find bowel cancer at an early stage, when it is easier to treat.
Faecal Immunochemical Test, or “FIT kits”, are non-invasive, at-home bowel screening tests that check for invisible-to-the-eye traces of blood in faeces, which can be an early indicator of bowel cancer.
The kits are sent every two years to people aged 50 to 74. However, around one third of people who receive a bowel test kit fail to return it, meaning early signs of cancer could go undetected.
Joanne is very glad that she seized her opportunity when the first kit was sent to her two years ago when she was 54.
The test detected cancer, she was sent for further investigations and eventually underwent surgery to remove a tumour.
She now lives with a permanent colostomy but did not require chemo or radio therapy.
Joanne said: “I did my test kit not long after the age bracket was lowered from 60, and I’m incredibly grateful that it was.
"I often think about what might have happened if that kit hadn’t arrived in the post and it’s frightening to imagine where I’d be today if I’d missed the chance to catch it early.
“I love to travel in our campervan and am looking forward to exploring Croatia, Italy, Germany this year alone…things that I may not have been able to enjoy if I my cancer wasn’t caught early.
“To anyone who has their test sitting at home, I’d say to just get on with it – it saved my life.”
The most common symptoms of bowel cancer are:
- Changes in your poo - such as softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation
- Needing to poo more or less often
- Blood in your poo - may look red or black
- Bleeding from your bottom
- The urge to go the toilet, even if you have just been
- Tummy pain, lump in your tummy or bloating
- Unexplainable weight loss
- Feeling very tired or short of breath
Dale Vimalachandran, reader in colorectal surgery at the University of Liverpool and honorary consultant colorectal surgeon at the Countess of Chester Hospital, said: “The earlier bowel cancer is detected, the more treatable it is, which is why is it so important for people to use and return their FIT kits as soon as possible, even if they have not experienced the main symptoms of bowel cancer.
“Many people may delay using and returning their kit, because they are scared, or embarrassed to do so.
"There is nothing to be ashamed of when completing a medical test, and the earlier you do so, the sooner you will know its outcome.