Hello, in April 2024 I will be running the London Marathon, my first marathon and the biggest physical challenge I have ever attempted! I will be fundraising in support of Bowel Cancer UK, the leading UK charity in support of bowel cancer education and research.

This year I was directly affected by a cancer diagnosis to a loved one, my Mum. She was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, GIST, which often forms in the bowel. That experience has been extremely difficult, for my Mum, our family and friends. Through this though, there have been small points of positivity; the quality of life maintained through a new chemotherapy treatment has been far beyond expectations, the support available from multiple charities has been generously offered, and the volume of information available online helped us to understand the disease.

It has been first-hand evidence for me of the benefits of funded cancer research, and charity resources online.

Top 3 Points - why donate to Bowel Cancer UK?

1. BCUK provides vital funding to research projects that are having real-world impact on patient outcomes & quality-of-life now.

2. Early diagnosis = better patient outcomes. BCUK provides a vital service by raising awareness and educating the general public on potential symptoms of bowel cancer, increasing early diagnosis.

3. Patient Support - a cancer diagnosis is disorientating, emotional and stressful. BCUK provides access to forums to hear other patient's experiences, and provides detailed, research-driven information to provide context to patients and their loved-ones.

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Bowel Cancer UK

Every year in the UK, 43,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer, accounting for c11% of all cancer diagnoses and making it the fourth most common cancer. However, the disease is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK (accounting for c10% of deaths), despite being both treatable and curable in many instances.

It is widely accepted that cancer survival rates are highly dependent on the stage of development of the disease at diagnosis. Pushing this point of diagnosis earlier is crucial for all cancers, and bowel cancer is no exception. The survival rate drops significantly as the disease develops; a recent Economist article was stark: “Nine in ten people with early-stage bowel cancer, stage one, will survive for at least five years after being diagnosed. At stage four, when the cancer has metastasised, nine in ten will die”.

It is a troubling reality that the UK remains a laggard amongst developed nations in relation to cancer survival rates (across all types of cancer), and early diagnosis rates have been highlighted as one of the country’s weaknesses. In Cancer Research UK’s “Improving Early Diagnostics of Cancer” infographic (linked below), a key pillar of improving diagnosis rates is “Supporting timely presentation by public”, which can be achieved via “informing and empowering people to respond promptly to signs and symptoms that could be cancer”. This highlights the importance of BCUK’s public education initiatives, which provide detailed information for those already diagnosed with cancer, and the wider public. The better educated charities like BCUK make the public, the more likely they are to turn up early to the doctor.

What will raised funds be spent on?

As discussed above, education about bowel cancer is a key strategy to drive early diagnosis, and supporting Bowel Cancer UK directly supports their work to produce information packs, which are updated regularly to take account of the most up-to-date academic findings (they aim to update this every 2-3 years). The charity also operates an “Ask the Nurse” service to the general public, and operates various forums / online networks full of relevant information and patient stories. As well as educating the public, their resources provide support to patients, helping provide context and information about their diagnosis.

The charity also deliver approx. 300 awareness talks every year to organisations and community groups, and run an “Awareness Roadshow” which tours the UK. It is fitting that I will be running the marathon in April 2024, which is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month - last April, in response to the charity’s survey results showing that nearly 40% of people in the UK cannot identify a single symptom of bowel cancer, BCUK launched the #KnowTheHigh5 campaign to highlight the top 5 symptoms of the disease.

BCUK is also an important (and loud) voice campaigning for more focus to be placed on improving patient outcomes in the UK, by shaping the NHS’s long term strategy to align with the charities own long-term priorities (see below links). The NHS’s bowel screening programme has been running since 2006 (currently for 60-74 year-olds, expanding to 50 year olds in England by 2025). Some studies have shown this programme reduced mortality rates by as much as 15%, yet uptake in England is only c.70%, and as low as 62% in N. Ireland, relatively low versus other cancer screening programmes according to Cancer Research UK.

Finally, the charity directly funds scientific research into the disease, with their strategy aiming to improve 5-year survival rates to 75% from 60% by 2028, and eventually eliminate deaths from bowel cancer by 2050. The charity’s research funding is directed towards projects that address topics the charity has identified as critical research gaps, more info can be found in the links below. The research funded by the charity covers the entire patient pathway from prevention & early diagnosis through to treatment & surgical clinical trail research.

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Useful Resources

* Bowel Cancer UK Website: https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/

* Charity’s Priorities https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/news-and-blogs/research-blog/our-priorities-for-bowel-cancer-over-the-next-ten-years/

* KnowTheHigh5 Campaign Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn_xplq7yUs&t=9s

* Current Research Projects https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/research/our-research/current-research-projects/

* Charity Publications https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/about-bowel-cancer/our-publications/

* Cancer Research Infographic: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/sites/default/files/cruk_waterfall_england_scotland_wales.pdf

* Cancer Charity List UK: https://www.thehealthexperts.co.uk/charities/a-guide-to-cancer-charities-and-organisations-in-the-uk/

* Maggie’s Cancer Support: https://www.maggies.org/

Links to Sources

* Cancer Research UK Statistics: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/bowel-cancer#heading-One

* Economist Article: https://www.economist.com/britain/2023/08/31/why-britain-is-so-bad-at-diagnosing-cancer

* Improving early cancer diagnosis in primary care (Merriel, Hamilton; 2020): https://wchh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/psb.1862

* The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Program: current perspectives on strategies for improvement (Koo, Neilson, Wagner & Rees; 2017): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5720037/#:~:text=1-,The%20English%20National%20Health%20Service%20(NHS)%20Bowel%20Cancer%20Screening%20Program,England%20and%20Wales%20in%202010

* Cancer Research UK: Bowel Screening https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/screening/bowel-cancer-screening