Bowel Cancer awareness month is held every year in April. It is a fantastic annual opportunity to raise awareness of the second biggest killer disease in the UK that results in around 16,000 deaths a year. Bowel Cancer deprives an individual from his or her loved ones every half an hour. It affects both males and females. In addition to raising awareness, profits made will go towards vital research and lifesaving work carried out by Bowel Cancer UK. If this deadly disease is diagnosed early, more than 90% of cases can be treated successfully. This will increase the survival rates of patients, enabling them to be together with their loved ones for longer and save them all from a considerable amount of grief.

This year, the focus will be on Bowel Cancer Screening. Its importance will be highlighted, along with the benefits it brings to those patients who are at risk.

Screening is extremely important because it can save lives. However, in some areas of the UK, only a third of people who receive a test complete it. There are thousands of people who are missing out on the chance to detect Bowel Cancer early when it is treatable. If more people participated in screening, more lives would be saved.

Together, we can raise awareness of Bowel Cancer screening this Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and help save millions of lives that can be tragically lost.

Please read the following points very carefully:

• If you are over 60 (or over 50 in Scotland), take the test when you receive it in the post.

• If you are younger, tell the people over 60 (or over 50 in Scotland) in your life, to take the test.

By agreeing to take part in screening, Bowel Cancer can be detected at an early stage in people who have no symptoms, at a stage when the disease is easier to treat. Furthermore, screening can prevent Bowel Cancer from developing in the first place by detecting non-cancerous growths (polyps) which could become cancerous in the future.

As clarified above, Bowel Cancer is treatable and curable if diagnosed at an early stage. The majority of people who are diagnosed with Bowel Cancer before it advances will survive. However, this drops significantly as the disease begins to develop. In order to receive an early diagnosis, people are strongly advised to participate in Bowel Cancer screening.

The following websites contain very useful information on Bowel Cancer UK, what they do and how you can get involved to help make a difference. Moreover, the important facts and figures of Bowel Cancer, the symptoms, risk factors and guidelines on how to lessen the risks are provided:

Bowel Cancer UK

Beating Bowel Cancer - Facts and Figures

Please do not hesitate to contact Bowel Cancer UK by telephone or email if you have any questions, comments or feedback.

Telephone: 020 7940 1760

Email: admin@bowelcanceruk.org.uk

They look forward to hearing from you.