Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I have entered this year's race in support of the many, many younger people who are dignosed too late with bowel cancer.

I realise that, on my own, I can do little to encourage GPs to refer more promptly; wonderful organisations such as Bowel Cancer UK are the way to go in my opinion; but what I CAN do, with luck, is to prod my family into insisting on early referral for themselves or their friends and relatives should the warning sirens be heard.

PLEASE do not ignore your symptoms. If you are diagnosed with 'constipation' or 'piles' or 'irriitable bowel syndrome' or 'imaginary stomach disorder', and you  don't respond positively within a couple weeks to whatever medication it was deemed fit to give you, then INSIST on a referral!  Fight your way through the 'front line' of first the receptionist, and then the GP - equip yourself with knowledge and stand firm. Do your research; don't accept the diagnosis if you feel your condition is getting worse; take control. 

Please sponsor me if you are able to, and if not, please help me to spread the word anyway - early diagnosis and prompt referral can save your life.

Thank you :)

An update to my original story... 

Two years ago I was raising funds for Beating Bowel Cancer with a sponsored diet.  I had no idea that a year later I would be fighting for my life with a return of that evil disease plus complications. 

I had been told during numerous visits to my GP that it was 'impossible' for a recurrence to happen, and I was fed the same old tired, incorrect, ill-informed gumf that I had heard twenty years previously.  "People like you," I was informed, "always think that their bowel cancer will come back - but it WON'T!"

It was as if nothing at all had changed regarding the education of doctors in bowel cancer detection of 'younger people'.  Terrifying.

Well, thankfully, 'people like me' are still alive and trying to raise awareness and funds - with your help again, if that's possible.  I know that it's tough financially at the moment, and I have set my target deliberately low-ish....

This time it's not a diet - the illness sorted that out for me - so instead I'm doing The Race for Life in High Wycombe on June 10th at 3pm.  Don't know if I'll be able to run a bit by then, not that I ever have been a runner of any description! 

However I do it, my thoughts will be with the many people who are not as lucky as me, who, through ignorance or lack of resources, have been diagnosed too late.  I've survived it twice, but only through luck really.

This is a picture of me when I was 25 with my daughter, Magenta, who was four.  I was a single parent and loved every minute of my life with her.  Three years after this picture was taken I started to feel unwell.  At first it was just a general feeling of discomfort after eating, but gradually the discomfort became more painful and I started what would turn out to be an increasingly frustrating battle of wills with my GP.  The symptoms I had were similar to those experienced by Irritable Bowel sufferers.  Initially I was happy to accept this as a diagnosis, but over the months, then years, none of the medication seemed to have any effect on the increasingly uncomfortable symptoms.  My GP suggested that I should to stop getting uptight about them and learn to relax .  This I found I could do in the evenings after Magenta was asleep.  Yet it had no effect. I tried yoga, meditation and relaxation tapes.  (No CDs back then!) 

The next thing that my GP suggested was a change of job - I was working in a large Montessori school in South London, and the job did, indeed, have its stressful moments, but it was not practical to think of leaving the school - to me that would have added to the stress that I was trying to combat!

Homeopathy was the next suggestion -  but for me this was not the answer.  I was becoming more and more ill, and despite literally begging my GP for a referral, none was forthcoming.  She suggested that I try food allergy testing next, which I dutifully did.... I also gave up smoking (thanks to a hypnotherapist friend), stopped drinking any alcohol; I really tried everything, but eventually I became so ill that during the school summer holidays I was unable to walk more than a few yards without some Lucozade for energy. 

I went, yet again, to my GP who came out with an absolutely classic piece of advice - "Take a holiday"!!!!!!  Fortunately for me, she took one herself, so the next GP I saw was a locum, who immediately sent me for a blood test, realising that I was extremely anaemic, and I was admitted to hospital for a blood transfusion and tests to discover the cause of the anaemia. (Haemoglobin level 4.2, for anyone medically minded!)

After various tests for conditions such as Crohn's and coeliac disease, a malignant tumour was discovered high in the ascending colon near the liver.   My daughter was by now 12 and at first I wondered if I would live to see her grow up. The survival rates for bowel cancer are, sadly, not great.   (Unless it is caught early, in which case it is curable!  The problem is, of course, getting a diagnosis in the first place before the tumour breaks through the colon wall and spreads, usually to the liver.) Well, thanks to the amazing care given to me at Croydon's Mayday Hospital, where the offending tumour was removed along with half my colon, and The Royal Marsden, where I received six months of chemotherapy, I am now in complete remission.  

17 years (and a new GP!) later and my daughter, Magenta, is planning her wedding for May 2010.  Of course the Mother-of-the-Bride has to look her best and so I am going to lose a few lbs and, with your help, hopefully make a few £s for Beating Bowel Cancer.  It's an incredibly worthwhile charity in terms of the work they do in supporting those affected and raising awareness of the importance of early detection.

I should, in retrospect, have been far more demanding, but I trusted my doctor and didn't want to make a fuss.  The symptoms can be embarrassing as well; it's a bit humiliating to have to explain EVERYTHING to your doctor, but it has to be remembered that they have seen everything before and certainly nothing you say can possibly embarrass them!

So, if you, or anyone you know, is experiencing irritable bowel type symptoms, unusual bleeding, unexplained anaemia or any other symptoms that don't respond to medication, relaxation or a change of diet, please go to your GP and insist on referral to a consultant - don't be fobbed off with the "bowel cancer only affects people over 50 " line either; I met plenty of people younger than I was who had been diagnosed, and some were not as fortunate as I was.   Remember, it can be completely cured, but it has to be discovered and treated in time. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thank you so much - Louise