Paul Davies, Assembly Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire is supporting Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer’s campaign to help raise awareness of bowel cancer symptoms, as part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month this April.
In April alone 188 people in Wales will be diagnosed with bowel cancer and 77 people will die of the disease. It’s the nation’s second biggest cancer killer. However, it shouldn’t be. It’s treatable and curable, especially if diagnosed early. Nearly everyone diagnosed at the earliest stage will survive bowel cancer but this drops significantly as the disease develops. Early diagnosis really does save lives, but only around 15% of people are diagnosed at the earliest stage.
Mr Davies said, “Bowel Cancer is treatable and that’s why it’s so important that we remain vigilant. Early diagnosis is key to saving lives and as the nation’s second biggest cancer killer, there’s clearly more that we could do to familiarise ourselves with the symptoms. I sincerely hope that people across Pembrokeshire think more carefully about bowel cancer and the impact it can have on families and if you’re worried something may be wrong, then do not hesitate to contact your GP.”
According to a recent poll commissioned of 4,000 UK adults by the charity, a third of people in Wales (33%) were not aware of any symptoms at all.
The symptoms of bowel cancer can include:
- Bleeding from your bottom and/or blood in your poo
- A persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason
- A pain or lump in your tummy
Asha Kaur, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer, said, “I’d like to thank Paul for supporting our campaign during Bowel Cancer Awareness Month to increase awareness of key bowel cancer symptoms. Every 15 minutes in the UK someone is diagnosed with bowel cancer. That’s almost 42,000 people every year. But it’s treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early.”
