My mum could have survived

MY mum Fiona died of bowel cancer. She was just 56 at the time. If she had lived in Scotland, where the population is screened from the age of 50, she would have had a far better chance of survival.

It breaks my heart to know that I lost my mum to this disease, when she might well have survived if they had caught it early enough.

If diagnosed at an early stage 97% of cases of bowel cancer can be successfully treated but this drops to just 7% if diagnosed at a late stage. You’re far more likely to be diagnosed at an early stage through screening than you are via your GP or A & E. So it’s shocking that there are millions of people in their 50s in the UK who are still being denied this chance.

Around 41,000 people a year are diagnosed with bowel cancer – the UK’s second biggest cancer killer – and more than 1 in 10 of them are in their 50s. Currently the screening age starts at 50 in Scotland but not until 60 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This means there are almost 8 million people in their 50s in the UK currently being denied the opportunity to be screened. Like my mum they are being badly let down and they deserve better.

That’s why I’ve been campaigning for a change to be made and why I’m supporting the charity Beating Bowel Cancer’s call to equalise the screening age across the UK.

I’d like to ask all the local 50-year-olds, their families and friends – and all those who will one day be in that age group – to support this change to bowel cancer screening to ensure that the odds are on their side in the future.

You can get more information about how to support Beating Bowel Cancer’s campaign at www. beatingbowelcancer.org.