April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month – Do You Know How to Reduce Your Risk?
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in NI. About 1 in 20 people will develop bowel cancer in their lifetime. In Northern Ireland, bowel cancer screening is aimed at people aged 60-74 who do not currently have any symptoms. Everyone in this age group who is registered with a GP will be invited to take part in screening every two years.
Screening is offered to detect bowel cancer when it is at an early stage in people with no symptoms. This is when treatment is more likely to be effective. The screening test detects blood in your poo (blood you would not notice by eye). This can be an early warning sign that something may be wrong. If the test picks up some bleeding, this does not mean that you definitely have bowel cancer. It just means this should be looked into to find the cause of bleeding.
Symptoms of bowel cancer can include:
· Blood in your poo;
· Looser poo, pooing more/less oftern and/or constipation;
· A pain or lump in your tummy;
· Feeling more tired than usual for some time;
· Losing weight for no obvious reason
Please remember that these symptoms don’t necessarily mean that you have bowel cancer. If you have had any of these symptoms for three weeks or more, please speak with your GP.
As well as taking the screening test every two years, you can reduce your risk by following advice for a healthy lifestyle – find out more at www.choosetolivebetter.com
Eat a healthy diet, including five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, and wholegrains, beans and pulses for fibre. Limit red meat, especially processed red meat.
Be active
Maintain a healthy weight
Limit your alcohol intake
Stop smoking – for help see www.stopsmokingni.info
WRDA’s ground breaking Breast, Cervical and Bowel Screening Awareness programme was developed to tackle the low uptake of screening invitations by women living in some areas of NI. The programme is delivered by Community Facilitators who have completed our accredited Level 3 Certificate in Learning and Development. The bowel session is available to both men and women and like the breast and cervical sessions can be fully tailored to meet the needs of groups with additional needs such as sight impairment, learning disability or non-English speakers.
Before taking part in our programme only 51% of men and women surveyed said they knew what a FIT kit was. This increased to 99% after the training with 96% of those surveyed saying they would now use the kit. The programme is available free for community groups. To find out more or book a session email Pamela Armstrong for Community Groups or Paula Murray for groups with additional support needs.