Bowel problems are difficult to talk about - and that's why they can kill

EVERY year, 270 East Lancashire men and women are told they have a disease which may prove fatal.

But although it's one of the region's biggest killers and one in 20 people will get it during their lifetime, most people have never even heard of colorectal cancer -- a disease of the bowels.

And that's one of the reasons why it claims so many lives.

It's one of the most treatable cancers -- if found in the early stages, sufferers have an 80 per cent chance of surviving the disease.

Sadly, many people who begin suffering stomach pains and bowel problems don't visit their doctor.

They prefer to cross their fingers and hope it will go away or assume it's a minor problem which will clear up on its own.

Almost 30 per cent of cases of colorectal cancer in East Lancashire aren't diagnosed until the disease has spread further through the body -- and then the survival rates drop to only three per cent.

Specialist bowel cancer nurse Ruth Fuller, of Blackburn Infirmary, is one of the experts who wants to raise awareness of the disease's signs and symptoms so more cases can be caught early.

She said: "Bowels have been a taboo subject but it's better to go and get a check up from your GP if you have noticed a change.

"One of the problems with colorectal cancer is that the symptoms mirror a lot of other conditions, such as piles.

"It can be quite a hard condition to spot -- patients may have no symptoms for some time." Ruth said everyone should get to know their own body's habits so they can detect changes more easily.

When a GP decides to refer a patient to the infirmary unit, Ruth will meet them and be a point of contact throughout their treatment.

She took on the newly-created role last year but has worked with bowel cancer patients since 1989.

She is now training to carry out specialist diagnostic techniques.

Although she works with people who are often distressed, she says she doesn't find it a depressing job.

She said: "There's nothing nicer than helping somebody through a crisis.

"To find out you have bowel cancer can take a lot of getting your head round and a lot of counselling and support."

But although the treatment of bowel cancer is advancing, it is still not known exactly what causes it.

Most sufferers are over 45 and just over half are men.

"It has been linked to many aspects of unhealthy lifestyles including smoking, lack of fibre and fresh fruit and vegetables in the diet and lack of exercise.

Ruth said: "It's never too late to give up smoking but people have choices in their lives as to how they live.

"We can advise but in the end it's up to them to choose."

Symptoms to watch out for include changes in bowel habit, diarrhoea or constipation, rectal bleeding, anaemia or abdominal pain.

Colon Cancer concern can be contacted on 020 7381 4711.

Pictured is nurse Ruth Fuller, at Blackburn Infirmary.