Nurses from Good Hope Hospital have been hitting the Mall in Sutton Coldfield to raise awareness of bowel cancer and the Hospital’s bowel cancer screening programme.

With one in 18 men and one in 20 women in the West Midlands affected by bowel cancer at some point in their lives, the bowel cancer team were out in force offering advice, answering questions and giving out information leaflets to shoppers. The team also informed locals about the Hospital’s bowel cancer screening programme and the free of charge, bowel cancer home screening kits available to everybody aged between 60 and 69.

Sharon West, Good Hope bowel cancer screening nurse, said: “So far 75 people in the area have been diagnosed and treated for bowel cancer as a direct result of the screening programme. Screening aims to detect bowel cancer at an early stage when treatment is more likely to be effective. As well as screening for bowel cancer, it can also help us detect any early warning signs, reducing the risk of bowel cancer developing.”

Common symptoms of bowel cancer include:

• Persistent change in bowel habit.
• Bleeding from the back passage without any obvious reason.
• Abdominal pain, especially if it is severe.
• A lump in your abdomen.

Those having one or more of these symptoms for longer than six weeks are advised to see their GP.

Any enquires regarding the Good Hope bowel cancer screening service can be made by telephoning the free phone number: (0800) 707 6060.