Bowel Cancer Awareness Month - April 2024
April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, an opportunity to raise awareness of bowel cancer led by Bowel Cancer UK.
Around 4,000 people in Scotland get bowel cancer every year. Being aware of the key symptoms and contacting your GP if things don’t feel right can help increase chances of an early diagnosis.
The symptoms of bowel cancer can include:
- Bleeding from your bottom
- Blood in your poo
- A change in how often you poo, or regularly having diarrhoea or constipation
- Losing weight but you’re not sure why
- Feeling very tired all the time but you’re not sure why
- A pain or lump in your tummy
Most people with these symptoms don’t have bower cancer. Other health problems can cause similar symptoms. If you have one or more of these, or if things just don’t feel right, contact your GP.
Bowel Screening Test
Bowel screening is offered every 2 years to people aged 50 to 74 across Scotland to help find bowel cancer early. It involves taking a simple test at home. The test looks for hidden blood in your poo, as this could mean a higher chance of bowel cancer. If you’re eligible, the Scottish Bowel Screening Centre will send you a free test kit to your home address (this is the address you used to register with your GP). If you have been contacted, please don’t ignore the opportunity to be screened.
To help raise awareness, a range of materials including posters, leaflets and podcasts are available to download from the Bowel Cancer UK website www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk including the materials attached to this e-mail:
Other help and support
NHS Inform is Scotland’s national health information service nhsinform.scot/bowelscreening It provides access to a range of health and wellbeing information including bowel cancer and bowel screening. The website is also home to Scotland’s Service Directory, a source of reliable, quality assured information containing details of local and national health and wellbeing services and support groups www.nhsinfom.scot/scotlands-service-directory
Cancer Research UK : cancerresearchuk.org
Macmillan : macmillan.org.uk