Bedfordshire man who ignored home cancer test gets bowel cancer

Stephen Sweetlove with his grandson Charlie, had eight months of chemotherapy and is due to have another operation to reverse his stoma

A man who ignored a home bowel home test due to embarrassment says if he had taken it his cancer diagnosis could have been found sooner.

Stephen Sweetlove, 67, from Bedfordshire, was posted a faecal immunochemical test (FIT), but dismissed it.

He said he became unwell in April 2022 with strong pains in his stomach, was bloated and unable to go to the toilet.

He was eventually treated at Bedford Hospital who, he said, saved his life.

Mr Sweetlove has had eight months of chemotherapy and is poised to have an operation to reverse his stoma.

A FIT kit collects a small sample of poo which is then sent to a laboratory

Mr Sweetlove said: "I am certain if I had taken the samples and posted them back, the bowel cancer would have been found at an early stage and treated straight away without any complications.

"Don't be embarrassed to take samples of your poo, don't be embarrassed to send your poo through the post and don't be embarrassed to talk to your doctor."

When he started to get symptoms of bowel cancer, he did not go to his GP at first because, he said, he "didn't want to burden the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic".

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He was eventually prescribed medicine and when he kept on being sick, he realised how ill he was.

"I rang 111 and they instructed me to go to accident and emergency," he said.

"Eleven hours later I was in theatre having a life-saving operation and I woke up in intensive care, lucky to still be alive.

"I cannot tell you how grateful I am to my surgeon Mr Kanapathippillai Rajaratnam for saving my life and a big thank you to all the doctors, nurses and staff."

Dame Deborah James raised millions of pounds to prevent cancer before she died

Dame Deborah James, known as Bowelbabe, died of bowel cancer in 2022.

She dedicated the latter years of her life to talking about cancer and urging people to check for symptoms.

Mr Paul Tisi, medical director at Bedford Hospital, said: "Bowel cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer, so it's vital those eligible send back their tests.

"Most people won't require further tests, but if you do, finding bowel cancer early can make it more treatable with better outcomes."