People under the age of 50 with symptoms such as rectal bleeding are being offered free assessments at a Nelson clinic.
The new campaign has been launched by medical technology company, SurgEase Innovations who have partnered with Wellness@TheClinic.
The partnership will allow people in Lancashire to gain access to state-of-the-art technology – LumenEye X1 – the world’s first digital rigid rectoscope. It is hoped that the campaign will help to spot rising incidences of bowel cancer in younger age groups, as well as other diseases affecting the back passage.
SurgEase CEO, Fareed Iqbal, a former colorectal surgeon himself and originally from Nelson decided to help the local community as these groups are not currently targeted by NHS screening programmes and there is a particular disparity in survival amongst young adults from BAME groups.
He said: “There is a great deal of complexity in understanding why colorectal cancer screening is poorly perceived in the BAME community and why it is under utilised.
“What is clear however, is that this under-utilisation leads to poorer outcomes when cancers are diagnosed in these groups. Access to care and prolonged waiting times for tests like endoscopy may be contributing factors.
“We hope that bringing high quality digital diagnostics like the LumenEye into community settings will help overcome these perceived and real barriers to care”.
Each year, over 2,500 young people under 50, are diagnosed with bowel cancer, a large proportion of which can be found in the rectum.
Bowel cancer is treatable, even curable, if diagnosed early, but, because of diagnostic delays, the disease is frequently diagnosed late in the young, when the odds of survival are substantially reduced.
The campaign aims to reduce the stigma and misinformation surrounding diseases affecting the back passage and encourage young adults to seek a doctor’s attention if they have persistent symptoms such as rectal bleeding.
The assessments will be offered to anyone aged between 18-49 years old, with the following symptoms: fresh bleeding from their back passage; anal pain; anal mucous discharge and anal itching.
An educational podcast featuring consultant colorectal surgeon, Mr Nirooshun Rajendran, and a bowel cancer survivor, Mo Haque, has been made available on the SurgEase website for those wanting to learn more.
Anyone wanting to take up the offer of the free checks can click here
