Bowel cancer survivor urges over-50s to get screened

Stephen Ball (pictured in middle) had a screening which caught his bowel cancer at a very early stage

A man urged over-50s to take bowel cancer screening tests following his own diagnosis and successful treatment.

Stephen Ball, 54, from Long Buckby, became Northamptonshire's youngest patient diagnosed through the screening programme after submitting a stool sample in May.

From 31 October, the programme has been extended to include 50-year-olds registered with GPs in the county.

Mr Ball said: “It shows how important it is to do your stool test when it comes through the post, and to get yourself checked-out so you have peace of mind."

Regular bowel cancer screening has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from bowel cancer by 16%

Since 2008, Northamptonshire's bowel screening programme has performed 14,390 colonoscopies and 446 colonograms.

Now expanded under national plans, everyone aged 50-74 will receive a Bowel Screening FIT stool kit every two years, with samples sent for testing.

Positive results prompt assessment by a specialist screening practitioner at Kettering General (KGH) or Northampton General Hospitals, (NGH) often leading to a colonoscopy.

When Mr Ball's sample returned positive, he went on to have a colonoscopy camera examination at KGH which detected a small lesion in his bowel.

This was tested and found to be early-stage cancer.

In July, he then had key-hole surgery and a bowel resection to remove the cancer and will now probably need no further treatment

Mr Ball added: "My cancer was so small it didn’t show up on a CT scan and it was caught at a very early stage and removed, which is the best thing that can happen.

“If you don’t you could go for years with a problem you don’t know about.”

'Very important'

Dr Andy Dixon, screening director for Northamptonshire, said: “Nearly everyone survives bowel cancer if diagnosed at the earliest stage.

"However this drops significantly as the disease develops. Early diagnosis really does save lives and it is very important to take part in screening.

"It will give you peace of mind and - in the unlikely event it detects a problem - it will help you get the treatment you need as soon as possible.”