THE DIRECTOR of the National Independent Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is supporting one of the country’s top experts in calls for widespread screening.

Ian Cowie, who runs Point Of Care Laboratories (POCL) at the Arbroath Business Centre, spoke out following the decision of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence not to license two drugs used to combat bowel cancer.

Dr Martin Eatock, a consultant medical oncologist at Belfast City Hospital, recently said screening could save more lives than the drugs Erbitux and Avastin.

Mr Cowie commented, “These drugs, which can help extend life in very advanced cases of bowel cancer, are clearly of huge importance to sufferers and their families.

“I do not wish to minimise this, but I believe Dr Eatock is quite right to point out the importance of widespread screening.”

He added, “Widespread screening has been clinically proven to be the most effective means of detecting bowel cancer at an early stage when it can be treated without recourse to major surgery or drug therapy.

“Bowel cancer kills 50 people a day in the UK, which is more than four times as many as die on our roads.

“The single most important step we can take to reduce this toll is for everyone to be screened regularly, ideally from the age of 40, or even earlier if there are other concerns, such as a family history of the disease.

“For best protection this screening should be undertaken annually.

“Whether individuals are screened using tests provided by the NHS or through organisations such as the NIBCSP, the really important issue in the fight against bowel cancer is to begin screening.

“The tests that are used by such programmes represent the gold standard for widespread, cost-effective screening for bowel cancer and such screening has been shown to significantly reduce mortality from bowel cancer.

“Bowel cancer caught in its early stages is 90% curable but when discovered late, this drops to less than 10%.

“Since bowel cancer typically shows few if any symptoms in its early stages, people reporting symptoms to their doctors which are then found to be caused by bowel cancer are likely to have an advanced case of the disease.”

Such symptoms include bleeding, bowel pain, fatigue and change in bowel habits.

“It is absolutely imperative that anyone who has these symptoms sees their doctor immediately, irrespective of their age,” added Mr Cowie.

The NIBCSP can be contacted by calling 0845 6035709 or online by visiting www.pocl.co.uk