Red Apple Day - Bowel Cancer Awareness

[pmacc]

Dear fellow AFF members

Today the 22nd of June is Red Apple Day which is used to highlight Bowel Cancer Awareness

Unfortunately Bowel Cancer is on the rise in Australia and it doesn't get a lot of attention even though it's the 2nd largest cause of new cancer cases. Each year 15,151 Australians are given the unfortunate news that they have Bowel Cancer with 3,980 patients ultimately losing their lives to this horrible disease (209 of them are under the age of 50). By 2020 it’s predicted that the number of Australians diagnosed with Bowel Cancer will rise to 20,000.

I cannot stress to all the members and visitors in the AFF community, please do not skip your stool tests. If you notice something unusual or blood in your bowel moment don't ignore it go see your GP. If there is family history of Bowel Cancer or polyps don't put off having a colonoscopy because you can’t be bothered. Bowel Cancer is very beatable with high cure rates in the earlier stages.

And to the younger AFF members, this isn't a 50 years and over issue!
I am 25 and one of the unfortunate Australians that got diagnosed with Bowel cancer 3 weeks before Christmas. Luckily for me I caught it just in time which has given me a high chance of being cured. But I had no warning signs, if my appendix didn’t burst due to the tumor in my bowel blocking it, I probably would not have of known about my cancer until few years down the track when it would likely be too late to stop.

While screening through the stool tests is unlikely to be given to those in their twenties and thirties anytime soon, all I can suggest to everyone young and old is look at your diet (particularly meat and processed meat consumption), look at your fitness and pay attention to anything irregular.

To me it would be a lot easier making some minor lifestyle adjustments just so you never have to set foot in an oncology room and go through 6 months of absolute misery, feeling like every treatment day is Groundhog Day.