Bowel Cancer Screening
Debate between Nick Thomas-Symonds and Chris Evans(6 years, 6 months ago)
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Nick Thomas-Symonds
I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman about the need for an optimal screening programme—I will come to that in a moment.
In Wales around 2,200 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year. Nearly half of those are diagnosed at a late stage. Approximately 900 people in Wales will die from bowel cancer every year, but 78% of patients will survive for one year or more, and 58% for five years or more. These figures are not mere statistics; every single extra day with the people we love is a great joy.
I lost my own mother, Pamela Symonds, to bowel cancer on new year’s day this year. She lived just under two years after her formal—too late, I am afraid—diagnosis. She was one of the 10,000 people diagnosed annually at the late stage of bowel cancer. I know only too well the impact that bowel cancer has on families.
Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)
I pass on my condolences to my hon. Friend. With all candour, I know what he is going through: I lost my father in 2003 to bowel cancer. He was just 51. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to start screening people for bowel cancer at the age of 50?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend and I pass on my condolences to him, even though the loss of his father was some time ago.
Along with my father Jeff, my wife Rebecca and my mother’s many friends, I supported her through three arduous rounds of chemotherapy, helping her to achieve her goal of living long enough to meet her grandson, my son William, who was born some three months after she was diagnosed. Owing to the care and treatment she received, her inspirational bravery and her sheer determination, she lived not only to see him born but to see him reach his first birthday in September 2017, and to see her beloved granddaughters, Matilda and Florence, reach the ages of eight and five—precious moments that are now my precious memories.
For families dealing with cancer, time is everything. Those who are diagnosed with bowel cancer have the best chance of surviving—and of surviving for much longer—if they are diagnosed at the earliest stage. This is why screening is so important.