Guildford MP and Minister for Public Health Anne Milton MP has supported national charity Bowel Cancer UK at its “Drop In” Parliamentary event at Portcullis House, Westminster. The event was an opportunity for MPs to get detailed information on bowel cancer in the form of a Constituency Toolkit.
The Toolkit contained information about their cancer network, incidence and mortality rates, bowel cancer screening in their area as well as details on issues relating to bowel cancer. Each individual MP was then taken through their Constituency Toolkit by a Bowel Cancer Voice representative, i.e. someone with direct experience of the disease.
643 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer and 282 people die every year from the disease in the Surrey, West Sussex and Hampshire cancer network. Based on the constituency population of 103,553, it is estimated that around 56 of these incidences and 25 of these deaths will have been within the Guildford constituency.
However, over 90% of bowel cancer patients will survive the disease for more than five years if it is diagnosed at the earliest stage. Improving early diagnosis is critical, therefore, if deaths from bowel cancer are to be reduced.
Anne Milton MP said, “We all get a bit shy when it comes to talking about things like our bowels but it’s really important to get the message out that screening saves lives and the earlier bowel cancer is caught the better the chance of survival.”
Deborah Alsina, Chief Executive of Bowel Cancer UK comments, “We are delighted that Guildford MP and Minister for Public Health Anne Milton attended our event. The support of MPs and Ministers is critical and we hope this will enable them to ensure that bowel cancer patients gain the best possible treatment and care in their constituency and across the UK.
“Bowel cancer has certainly been in the spotlight over the last month, with the announcements that the Government is investing £9 million in national and local campaigns on breast, bowel and lung cancer and that flexible sigmoidoscopy will be introduced alongside the current screening programme for those over 55 years old in England. We are grateful for the Government’s commitment to reducing deaths from bowel cancer and look forward to working with Anne Milton and her Ministerial and parliamentary colleagues in helping to achieve this.
“We also hope that, armed with the information in their Toolkits, the MPs who attended our event will champion bowel cancer on our behalf and help us to keep the disease on the political agenda in the future.”