It’s good to talk: FREE, AWARD-WINNING AWARENESS & SCREENING TALKS
Bowel Cancer UK is a small but proactive UK-wide charity which offers free awareness and screening talks to raise awareness of the disease.
The talks are provided by a team of health promotion volunteers, who recently won a Royal College of Public Health ‘Health and Wellbeing’ Award for their Health Promotion Volunteer Programme.
Gail Curry, Head of Health Promotion and Training for Bowel Cancer UK said: “The award is a tribute to the dedication of our small yet highly committed health promotion team, including many volunteers who help us save lives and improve the quality of life for all those affected by bowel cancer. We’re incredibly grateful to our fantastic volunteers, without whom this award wouldn’t have been possible.”
Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in Scotland and the third most common cancer. It’s being featured currently in the Scottish Government’s ‘Detect Cancer Early’ TV campaign to encourage people aged between 50 – 74 to complete and post their bowel screening kit.
Screening was introduced and phased in across Scotland between 2007–2009. The screening kit is designed to identify people aged between 50-74 years (74 years+ on request), registered with a GP who appear healthy but may be at risk from bowel cancer. It has been proven to save lives.
Public awareness of the risks, signs and symptoms of bowel cancer still remains relatively low. It is less commonly known that bowel cancer can occur in young people too. Men are currently more likely to die of cancer, as research has shown they are less likely to seek medical advice until the late onset of signs and symptoms. If detected early, bowel cancer is easily preventable and treatable. Unlike other types of cancer, drugs are less likely to be used.
‘Thank you for the useful information and presentation … very easy to understand’ – participant
RISKS, SIGNS, SYMPTOMS AND BOWEL CANCER SCREENING TALKS
Delivered by one of our fully trained health promotion volunteers, all of whom have been affected by bowel cancer. This free presentation provides attendees with an overview of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, risk factors and available screening. According to Bowel Cancer UK, people with experience of bowel cancer, either personally or through a family member of friend, are uniquely equipped to raise awareness and deliver these talks.
Lasting for approximately 45 minutes, the presentation is an ideal, free introduction for community groups, workplaces and healthcare professionals.
For carers of people with learning disabilities, we have designed a free one day course to develop the confidence and skills to support people they care for, understand the importance of good bowel health and how to engage with the bowel screening programme.
We offer a range of programmes of Bowel Cancer Awareness and Early Detection Courses which will equip participants with the knowledge, skills and resources to cascade bowel cancer awareness messages.
Please contact Lynne or Claire for more information or to arrange a free talk:- Tel: 0131 225 5333 or Email: admin@bowelcanceruk.org.uk
For more information visit www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk
Bowel Cancer UK aims to save lives and improve the quality of life for all those affected by bowel cancer through:-
- Championing early diagnosis
- Improving access to best treatment and care
- Raising public awareness of risks, signs and symptoms
- Enable research to contribute evidence in identifying risks, improving access to best treatment and care
- Producing quality award winning education and information resources.
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