Blog number 三 (san, that’s Chinese and Japanese for ‘three’).
With September ending it is once again time to reflect on our work, activity and outreach as well as the general news in bowel cancer screening.
We’ve been to quite a few areas in the community this, such as the highly attended and well-received Pinner Village Show. The fair which contained Punch and Judy, a petting zoo, children’s rides and a traditional bagpipe band, also housed us! It was incredibly satisfying to see people come together and enjoy what was on offer while supporting the local community. It was also uplifting to have people speak to us and pay an interest in not only bowel cancer but their health generally on a day where it would be easier to ignore it for a bit of fun in the (sporadic) sun. It really goes to show that we’re starting to break down the barriers about bowel cancer and bowel screening by having these conversations in non-health forums.
We were also at the Northwick Park Rotary Club, who as always were incredibly hospitable and accommodating. They’re currently on a push to have people check their blood pressure in shopping centres and public spaces so be on a lookout for them!
In the news this month it was reported that half of over 60s ignore bowel cancer screening. While this is concerning news, it only motivates us to give more to our work so we can increase our reach effectively. It is important to state that while the mortality rate for bowel cancer is one of the highest for cancers in the UK, it needn’t be at all. The screening programmes are effective and will improve of the new few months with FIT, so catching the disease earlier should be more commonplace leading to a better prognosis and fewer deaths.
Hopefully over the next few weeks we’ll be able to talk about the other projects we’re currently working through, so you’ll be left with (another) tease this month.
We’re dedicated to working with primary care facilities to train healthcare professionals on bowel cancer awareness and screening so they can utilise this information in your day to day lives. In September we worked with a number of GPs, pharmacists and carers about looking out for symptoms and how to speak to patients about the screening programme. If you’re interested with working with then please contact us on 0208 869 3376 or emailing Sameer.choglay@nhs.net.
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