Celebs are supporting the campaign, Never Too Young
Sir Chris Hoy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Fry and Julia Bradbury are just some of the celebrities who have plendged their support for a campaign for potentially life-saving testing for younger people at higher risk of bowel cancer.
The charity is Bowel Cancer UK, with a campaign entitled Never Too Young, which is focusing on better surveillance screening of high risk groups. Other celebrities who are backing the Never Too Young campaign include Alan Davies, Sharron Davies, Matthew Wright, Ben Richards, Carol Decker and Neil Stuke.
Bowel Cancer UK’s Never Too Young campaign calls for action to address the lack of regular tests (surveillance screening) and support for younger people at high risk of bowel cancer. There are several ways people can take action:
- TEXT GUTS14 £5 to 70070 to help fund the Bowel Cancer UK campaign for change
- SHARE THE SYMPTOMS of bowel cancer and help raise awareness
- SIGN UP to a fundraising challenge for Bowel Cancer UK
- ADD YOUR NAME to our growing number of campaign supporters
The need for regular tests for those at high risk of bowel cancer was highlighted recently by bowel cancer patient Stephen Sutton, who died tragically in May, just over a month ago.
Ricky Gervais is one of the celebrity supporters, he says:
“Stephen Sutton achieved so much in his short life time, he was a real hero and a true inspiration to us all. But his death might have been avoidable if he had been diagnosed earlier. That’s why I’m supporting Bowel Cancer UK’s Never Too Young campaign for change, to try to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Deborah Alsina, CEO of Bowel Cancer UK, said, “We have been running our Never Too Young campaign for the last year and we are currently focusing on surveillance screening of high risk groups. These include families like Stephen’s with a genetic condition called Lynch syndrome, people with a strong family history or those who have had an inflammatory bowel condition for over ten years.”
“The tragic story of Stephen Sutton, whose family has a higher risk of bowel cancer, highlighted the need for better services for people at high risk. He was a remarkable young man to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude for his selfless determination to stop others going through the same thing.”
The Bowel Cancer UK briefing highlights that, whilst professional guidelines have been published, the reality is that the implementation is at best patchy, yet regular screening of people at high risk has been proven to save lives.
Deborah Alsina continued, "While bowel cancer is thankfully relatively rare in younger people like Stephen, around 2,100 people under 50 are still diagnosed with it each year, often late. That's why we launched our Never Too Young campaign, to improve the diagnosis, treatment and care of younger bowel cancer patients and to raise awareness amongst younger people and health professionals. Early diagnosis really does save lives."
"In memory of Stephen Sutton and all the 550 people under 50 who lose their lives to bowel cancer each year in the UK, we are determined to save lives by ensuring people gain access to the screening surveillance they need, so that bowel cancer can be ruled out first, not last, in younger patients.”
As part of the Never Too Young campaign, Bowel Cancer UK has developed solutions to this issue alongside leading bowel cancer clinicians and some of the thousands of younger people affected by bowel cancer.
Benedict Cumberbatch says:
“Stephen Sutton’s story made a big impact on me, he was so inspirational and achieved so much. Like many others, I was unaware that younger people can also develop bowel cancer. I would like to help change that, so I’m supporting Bowel Cancer UK’s Never Too Young campaign to improve diagnosis of younger patients.”
One initiative announced recently is a new research project with Department of Health funding which will be run by the University of Exeter and Bowel Cancer UK. The research will lead to the development of a new clinical decision aid tool which is aimed at speeding up the diagnosis of bowel cancer and bowel disease in patients under the age of 50.
Tagged in bowel cancer