Comedian’s tale helps to spread health message
WELSH stand-up comedian Siânny Thomas has helped more than 10,000 people across the UK get checked for a life-threatening condition after fronting a UK wide campaign.
She shared her story of living on gummy bears and bran flakes for a year as her Crohn’s disease made eating painful, as a way to encourage people to use a new symptom checker for the conditions.
This produces a list of your symptoms and recommendations for further tests that you can give to your GP.
Siânny says, “I spent too long in a desperately ill and malnourished state.
“It’s important to me that medical professionals understand the nuanced parts of Crohn’s and colitis.
“With refreshed minds, so many will go on to receive the correct diagnosis much earlier on.”
By day five of the campaign, launched by charity Crohn’s & Colitis UK last Wednesday, 13,035 people had used the checker. It takes just 30 seconds to tell you if you need to see a GP after you’ve clicked on all your symptoms – the key ones being diarrhoea, passing blood and stomach pain.
Siânny added, “To know that this campaign will have stopped many being misdiagnosed is heartwarming to me. Thank you to everyone who’s used the symptom checker and I hope you find the answers you need with this.”
Now Siânny has been joined by Eluned Morgan MS, the Minister for Health and Social Services, in backing the charity’s campaign “Cut The Crap – Check for Crohn’s and Colitis”.
This urges people to take their symptoms seriously as one in ten people questioned in Wales said they’d be too embarrassed to discuss them with a GP.
Baroness Morgan said: “I welcome this campaign from Crohn’s & Colitis UK to reduce stigma and encourage people to seek the care they need.
“The Welsh Government has committed more than £1bn to help the NHS recover from the pandemic, including tackling waiting times.
“Bowel conditions are notoriously difficult to diagnose, which is why through our programme for transforming and modernising planned care, we are committed to improving pathways and increase diagnostic capacity.
“This will help everyone with Crohn’s and colitis in Wales to get the diagnosis and best possible outcome regardless of who they are, and where they live.”
Shadow Health and Social Services Minister Russell George said: “I am grateful for the work Crohn’s & Colitis UK continue to do by raising awareness about the impact of a delayed diagnosis and how we can work together to address this issue.
“Sadly, one in four people across Wales with Crohn’s or colitis waited over a year before getting diagnosed and we know that early diagnosis is crucial in providing better health outcomes as well as a better quality of life.”
Siânny and Baroness Morgan were to be joined by the charity’s CEO Sarah Sleet at the Wales launch of the campaign at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre yesterday.
Sarah said: “We know thousands of people are living with undiagnosed Crohn’s and colitis, which left untreated can have devastating effects on people’s lives and increase demand on already overstretched A&E units.
“We welcome the Welsh government’s commitment to doing more to help people get earlier diagnosis, so they can get their lives back on track as soon as possible.”
Find the symptom checker at www. crohnsandcolitis.org.uk