Re: Screening/bowel cancer
 

On reflection the offer of screening falls far short of the mark IMHO. Think it should be offered to people who have a history of bowel cancer in their family and I'm sorry but offering it at sixty would quite possibly be to late for a lot of people!! I know for a fact that Ian, his Mum and his Grandma all died as a result of bowel cancer even though we are told cancer is not hereditary!! You can be sure that I am telling Ians children to be extra careful and to make sure they get any concerns checked out.
Anyway anybody who has worked in the food industry who has been off work with sickness or diarrhoea will have been asked to send a sample for testing before they could return to work. Surely prevention and or embarassment is preferable to no cure!!

Re: Screening/bowel cancer
 

I just wonder why we are the last to be incuded in the exercise, my other half, who lives in Greater Manchester, did this test some 18 months ago, I read all the bumf she got at the time and it seemed like an excellent Idea, but when are we going to take part, which to me is a very important health care test for people over 60

Re: Screening/bowel cancer
 

Anybody with a family history of bowel cancer can ask to be tested, though you'd think it would be automatic if a family member is diagnosed. I think though they should routinely offer the test at a younger age, bowel cancer is very common in this area and a lot of our patients are younger than 60.

Re: Screening/bowel cancer
 

Your right there, we have a family history and i have to have a colonoscopy every 3 yrs, due to their being a family history i have been put on whats called the gene bank, i dont quite understand how it works but the regular screening of the bowels (colon)and cervix from my family has only just started with me, my mum has had cancer my mums mum died from cancer and her mum but also my dads mum at a young age, that puts me at quite a high risk so they are keeping an eye on me, i have been told that if i dont get cancer then my daughter is less likley to get it but if i do then my daughter will be added onto the gene bank to be screened

Re: Screening/bowel cancer
 

When I had this test poo on a stick I had not to eat certain foods for a week before doing the samples. cannot just think what they were but brocolli was one (I think) anyway results came back ok. One doctor I know says this is not very reliable as there could be traces of blood if you suffer with hemeroids (Don't know how to spell it sorry) I personally think it is a good thing.

Re: Screening/bowel cancer
 

Quite agree Grego, if there is a decease in the family family members should be tested regularly. My Mum had glaucoma, I have had free eye tests for over 15 years now

Re: Screening/bowel cancer
 

Would this test show up any other problems with your bowel?
My mum's burst and she eventually died from complications and i wondered if anything like that would show up or if it was one of those random tragic things?

Re: Screening/bowel cancer
 

Think its just to detect cancer Loz, as thats what the bumf said when I read it

Re: Screening/bowel cancer
 

Okay thanks Jay i was just wondering thats all!

Re: Screening/bowel cancer
 

Loz I am so sorry to hear that, how awful.

A very good friend and neighbour of ours died, 6 months before my husband - 12 years ago, from bowel cancer. His identical twin brother had died from it 18 months earlier. His 2 sons, who were then in their early 40s, were screened shortly after his death and have both been screened again, within the last couple of years. This was at the instigation of their GP.

I can understand why there is an age limit, 60, to routine screening but it does seem to go by which area you live in as to how soon it is done. My brothers, aged 74 and 72 and both living in Blackburn, have not been screened while I, aged 65 and here in Cheshire, have. It's not good, is it?

Re: Screening/bowel cancer
 

Even if you don't have a history of bowel cancer in your family, or whatever age you are, if you have any concerns regarding your bowel movements, especially if you have pain or blood in your stool, you should get your GP to check things out.

I suffered from "Irritable Bowel Syndrome" for about 7 years before my GP finally sent me to a specialist. As I was only in my thirties at the time, he reassured me that I was unlikely to have bowel cancer, but was concerned that it was more than IBS. A colonoscopy confirmed that I had ulcerative colitis, and since I have been on the proper medication for my condition, the symptoms have cleared and rarely recur, although I still have problems with chillis and most pain-killers.