Jeff Cuthbert AM for Caerphilly attended an event hosted by Cancer Research UK to help raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer and to hear about a new screening procedure that could prevent a third of bowel cancers.
Flexisigmoidoscopy (Flexisig) is a new method of detecting and removing polyps before they develop into bowel cancer, potentially saving thousands of lives and reducing death rates by nearly half among those attending screening. Cancer Research UK hope that the flexi-scope test will be incorporated into the existing bowel cancer screening programme in Wales.
AMs were invited to walk through a giant inflatable colon, the first European inflatable model of a walk through replica of the human colon. The model is being used as an educational device on the importance of early diagnosis and treatment.
Jeff Cuthbert AM said:
‘Recent trial results of this method of detecting and removing polyps before they develop into bowel cancer showed that the number of cases of bowel cancer were cut by a third and deaths from the disease reduced by almost half (43 per cent) among those attending screening. Considering that bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK after lung cancer, this is a huge and much needed breakthrough.’
Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said:
“Cancer Research UK helped to fund the 16-year trial which has resulted in ground-breaking research. Because it will prevent so many cancers, adding this test to the bowel screening programme will spare thousands of families the anxiety and suffering associated with a cancer diagnosis, while also saving the NHS money. Flexisig offers us a tremendous opportunity to push bowel cancer down the league table of cancer cases in Wales.”
