rivers2cross

I received this wonderful photo and message from my friends Sarah and Gus Smith. Sarah recently purchased one of the bears, which they have named Brenda after Gus’s Mum. Brenda has just celebrated her 90th birthday, instead of birthday presents she asked everyone to donate to a charity of their choice on her behalf, which resulted in Sarah buying one of the teddy bears – She felt it was appropriate as Brenda has had bowel cancer. Sarah asked Brenda to put some words together about her experience, which she is happy for me to share. Sarah rightly believes that it has a strong message regarding early detection…

I was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2013. I was passing very small amounts of blood but I had been alerted to the recognition of bowel cancer as a good friend of mine had recently been diagnosed with it so fairly reluctantly I booked an appointment to see the doctor. This I did on the 15 July and was referred to a consultant on the 18th July. A colonoscopy and CT scan followed on the 30th July and 13th August and I was operated on on the 4th September. A very swift and smooth path through all procedures requiring no follow up chemo or radio therapy, perhaps early diagnosis playing a part. I had five years of regular check-ups and the treatment I received from Milton Keynes University Hospital over the entire procedure from beginning to end was utterly excellent. I am so grateful to all concerned. This is the story of my bowel cancer.

My heartfelt thanks to Gus, Sarah and Brenda for their support and sharing this story. It is always good to hear a story of survival from this awful disease x

Although I tend to push the fundraising very hard, I am all too aware how important raising awareness about bowel cancer is. Early detection is key in improving a patient’s survival chances. Bowel cancer is very treatable in its early stages (stage1), but long-term survival rates drop dramatically when it is diagnosed at stage 4. It is also so important to recognise that bowel cancer affects all ages with more and more younger people being diagnosed. Sadly, too often the young are misdiagnosed as they are “too young for bowel cancer” and as a result are being diagnosed at stage 4 with their chances of long term survival diminished. This perception about bowel cancer needs changing right across the board.

There are a number of teddy bears available supporting charities and charitable causes. Click on any of the bears to purchase.