Ross residents urged to heed campaign
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RESIDENTS of Ross-shire are being urged to take a test which could save their lives.
Community pharmacies across the area covered by NHS Highland are joining a national campaign to encourage people to take a bowel screening test.
They will be displaying posters and making information leaflets available from August to October.
All those aged 50-74 in the NHS Highland area are eligible for screening and will be sent a home-based test kit through their letterbox every two years, together with an instruction leaflet.
Once completed, test kits should be returned for analysis in the pre-paid envelope provided.
Jim Davidson (64), of Inverness, is amongst those very glad he used the bowel screening kit he received through the post as he has been successfully treated for bowel cancer.
Mr Davidson explained that he returned home from a cycling holiday in the Alps in June of last year to discover his kit had arrived and decided to do it straight away.
The screening test proved positive and he had further tests at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness to look into the cause of this. These revealed that he had early stage bowel cancer, which was removed during keyhole surgery in September.
Mr Davidson said, “Before I took the test, I had no symptoms and was feeling as fit as I’ve ever felt, but I never even considered not doing it. I just felt that if you’re getting a free test you should use it and I’m certainly very glad I did.
“It’s not the most pleasant thing to do, but you just have to think about the alternative. I would encourage anyone who receives a kit to use it. It only takes a few minutes and it could save their life. I feel fine now and I’m still cycling.”
NHS Highland’s Bowel Screening Coordinator, Dr Rob Henderson, said, “I’m really grateful to Mr Davidson for telling his story. It demonstrates just how important it is that people take part in bowel screening.”
He explained that the screening test looks for small amounts of blood in bowel motions as this may suggest a higher chance of bowel cancer.
“The amount of blood can be so small that it may not be seen. A positive test means that blood was found in the bowel motions tested. This does not mean that a person has bowel cancer as blood can be present for other reasons.
"However, people with a positive test result will be offered further investigation so that this can be looked into,” said Dr Henderson.
Bowel cancer is one of Scotland’s most common cancers, accounting for 4,000 cases and 1,600 deaths a year.
Further information on bowel screening can be found at www.bowelscreening.scot.nhs.uk.
