rivers2cross

Chapter 15 in The Record features the inspirational Lauren Backler whose mum, Fiona, died of bowel cancer in 2015 aged 56. If the bowel cancer screening age had been 50 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to match Scotland instead of being 60, her mum would have been scanned, and Lauren believes would still be alive today.

Lauren started an online petition to get the screening age reduced to 50, and as a result of the half a million signatures the government announced that the screening age would be reduced. However, no date has been set for implementation, so Lauren continues with her campaign and will not rest until it is implemented.

We met up in August 2017, and the photo I used in the book is one of my favourites with Lauren photographed with Buckingham Palace as the backdrop. Lauren is a big music fan, and her first record is a huge 90s dance anthem.

Lauren, a primary school teacher, has recently announced that she and her partner Hayden are expecting their first baby, which is wonderful news, so my very best wishes to them both.

The Record was written in memory of my mum who died of bowel cancer in August 2016. All profits are donated to Bowel Cancer UK, and over £870 has been raised to date. I am hoping to reach £1000 during 2020. Click here to see all the ways to order a copy of the book.

Bowel cancer claims 16,000 lives in the UK, and is the second biggest cancer killer. However if caught early at stage 1 it is very treatable, and the five year survival rate is over 90%. When detected at the late stage 4 the five year survival rate drops dramatically to 7%. This shows how crucial early diagnosis is to getting a better outcome. Knowing the symptoms is so important.