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There have been some fantastic photos and adventures so far from the many stop bowel cancer bears that have been travelling all over the world. I’m really grateful to Derek Rusling for sending me some amazing photos of bowel bear at the Imperial War Museum at RAF Duxford, where the teddy actually got to fly in a classic Hawker Hurricane, which played a major role in World War II. This is precisely the kind of adventure to help raise awareness about bowel cancer that I’d hoped the bears would be taken on. The teddy was very kindly given to Derek by Stuart Henshaw, who has bought quite a few bears to give out as presents, and I’m extremely grateful for all his support. Stuart has inoperable bowel cancer, so he is on maintenance chemo.
Derek’s sister, Deborah James, tragically died of bowel cancer in 2017 aged just 37. I was fortunate enough to meet Deborah for my new book The Record, and she was such a kind and generous woman who was keen to support my project even when her own health was deteriorating. The chapter in the book was written in the present tense, which both myself and Debs thought was best, and I didn’t change a word after she died.
The stop bowel cancer bears are helping to raise awareness about bowel cancer. Although it’s often regarded as a cancer that affects older people, more and more younger people are being diagnosed – highlighting the fact that you are never too young to get bowel cancer. It is the second biggest cancer killer in the UK, and yet if detected early at stage 1 over 90% of patients can be successfully treated. The five-year survival rate drops to just 7% when diagnosis occurs at the late stage 4. Only 15% of diagnosis currently happen at stage 1, so this figure needs to increase to help improve survival rates, and raising awareness about bowel cancer plays an important role in this.
The possibilities with the bears are endless, and it’s a way of highlighting this awful disease, and being able to do something positive at the same time. The bears have already been to some amazing places on this planet, and I have been blown away by the response so far.
Please continue to support this idea and take a teddy on a whole new load of adventures. All proceeds raised form sales of the bears are donated to Bowel Cancer UK. Please click here to order a stop bowel cancer bear.
