Bowel Cancer In The Spotlight

It’s amazing how a little play on words can grab one’s attention, isn’t it?

Bowel cancer is as serious as hell, but it is a topic that most of us rarely give two thoughts to.

Of course, the latest campaign, featuring a smiling Merv Hughes clutching a bowel cancer test kit with the title “It’s Time To Give Two Shits About Bowel Cancer” has definitely captured the attention.

The brainchild of the Federal Department of Health and the Jodi Lee Foundation.

Jodi Lee, her husband Nick and their two young children were living in Vietnam in 2008, where Nick was working.

Nick was away when Jodi rang complaining of constipation, abdominal pain and some bloating. Her doctor quickly recognised an obstruction in her bowel and ordered scans. Jodi had cancer and the tumour had all but blocked her bowel.

She was only 39 years old.

After emergency surgery to remove the cancer Jodi and Nick received the worst news possible – it had spread to Jodi’s lymph and liver.

At best, she only had two years to live.

Jodi passed away on January 16, 2010, a few days before her 41st birthday. Before Jodi’s diagnosis, she was fit and healthy.

She had no family history and no symptoms whatsoever, which is typical of bowel cancer.

The saddest part of Jodi’s story is that it could have had a different ending if her bowel cancer had been detected early, and with that simple fact as the driving force, the Jodi Lee Foundation was established in 2010.

If you are aged between 50 and 74 years, you will receive a free bowel screening test in the mail thanks to the Federal Government’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.

If you are younger than this, though, you can purchase a bowel cancer screening test from your local pharmacy or online for $42.

A simple bowel cancer testing kit saves lives.

• Topics:

• Health & Wellness