Bowel Cancer Awareness Month Profiled in Cumbernauld at Free Health Information Hub Seminar

Local people and organisations took part in a specially arranged free Cumbernauld Bowel Cancer Awareness Event, which was hosted as part of activities scheduled to highlight Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in the UK during April.

The Scotland Team of national charity Bowel Cancer UK visited the town on Thursday 25 April 2019 to facilitate an interactive two-hour seminar incorporating awareness raising about the disease and information about local volunteering and fundraising opportunities to support the fight against bowel cancer.

The Event is the first of a series of planned monthly community health awareness raising events being rolled out through the newly established Cumbernauld Community Health Information Hub during 2019. Ross Lamb, Scottish Health Promotion and Training Officer for Bowel Cancer UK, commented:

“Our organisation was delighted to visit North Lanarkshire to host an Event which we hope will significantly raise awareness of bowel cancer for people living and working in the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Northern Corridor area.  

“Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with almost 42,000 people being diagnosed every year and around 268,000 people battling the disease today in the UK.

“Despite these alarming statistics, knowledge about the condition and recognition of the importance of bowel cancer screen testing is perhaps not as high profile as it could or should be, particularly where older people are concerned.

“More than nine out of ten new cases are diagnosed in people aged over 50, with nearly six out of ten cases being diagnosed in people aged 70 or above. However, bowel cancer can affect anyone of any age, and more than 2,500 new cases are also diagnosed each year in people under the age of 50.

“It is a treatable and curable form of cancer if diagnosed early, and nearly everyone survives bowel cancer if they receive diagnosis at the earliest stage. But recovery rates can drop notably as the disease develops, so early diagnosis is critical.

“That’s why Bowel Cancer Awareness Month provides us with an excellent opportunity to spotlight this illness with a view to initiating screen tests and prevention for more people in the local area.”

In addition to the bespoke focus on bowel cancer prevention, information stalls hosted by a range of local health and social care providers were on display in a special market place facilitated on the day, and an update on other key and upcoming health and social care campaigns was also provided.

Meanwhile, as another element of Cumbernauld Community Health Information Hub, Cancer Research UK commenced hosting fortnightly Cancer Awareness Hubs in Cornerstone House Centre in April.

These are sessions where anyone can drop-in to The Centre and speak informally and confidentially with trained cancer nurses and professionals.

For further information about Cumbernauld Bowel Cancer Awareness Event, please contact The Health Team at  Cornerstone House Centre on 01236 739220 or email health@cornerstone-house.org.uk.