The bowel movement Johann backs taking the test
It isn’t the most pleasant thing to consider.
But for super- active Johann Hobson, 60, returning a bowel screening test saved her life.
The Cumnock grandmother hadn’t felt ill, but when she returned her test she received a letter stating blood had been detected in her sample.
And when she attended hospital for a colonoscopy, she was diagnosed with bowel cancer.
She said: “I had no signs of bowel cancer, no bleeding, no constipation and no discomfort so when I received a letter asking me to go for a colonoscopy I wasn’t worried.
“As far as I was concerned I was fit and healthy and went to kettlebell and yoga exercise classes every week.
“I even delayed taking the colonoscopy because I was so sure I was fine.”
After receiving her diagnosis, Johann was treated and doctors were able to catch the cancer at an early stage.
She said: “Things moved very quickly and before I knew it I was back at the hospital to have an operation that removed part of my bowel.
“I also needed six months of chemotherapy as the cancer had spread to two lymph nodes. I’m now back and well at all my classes and enjoying life to the full.”
Stories like Johann’s are being shared to encourage more people to send back their bowel screening tests and help catch cancer at its earliest stage.
Figures from the Scottish Bowel Screening Centre show more people are sending back the tests, with 9700 more returned during August and September compared with the same two month period in 2014.
Everyone aged between 50 and 74 is sent a bowel screening test every two years - now government chiefs are urging more people to join the ‘ bowel movement’ and encourage more people to send back the screening test.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, Shona Robison said: “It’s hugely encouraging to see bowel screening test returns continuing to rise with people recognising that the test can potentially be a life- saver.
“Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in Scotland, yet it is both treatable and even curable if found early.
“Doing the bowel screening test isn’t the most pleasant thing in the world, but its important people understand that they’re not alone. More than half a million people in Scotland do the test every year - a figure we’re focused on continuing to increase in a bid to save even more lives.”