Meg joins campaign for cancer screening

Meg met with a Hackney constituent at parliament to raise awareness of cancer screening.

Hackney is in the worst fifth nationally for cancer mortality in the under 75s and the take up of cancer screening is well below the national target.

Breast and bowel cancer screening saves thousands of lives. Research suggests that there will be 20,000 fewer deaths from bowel cancer over the next 20 years thanks to the roll-out of the bowel cancer screening programme.

Bowel cancer screening has been available to all Hackney residents aged between 60 and 69 since April 2007.

Screening for cancer involves testing large groups of healthy people to look for early signs of some cancers. This can help doctors find these cancers at an early stage, or even spot early signs that suggest cancer is likely to develop. This makes treatment simpler and more likely to be effective.

In the UK, women can currently be screened for breast, cervical and bowel cancer. Men can be screened for bowel cancer.

Meg said, “Screening saves lives so take the time to find out how you can be tested and encourage family and friends if they are invited to be screened.”

For more information visit www.cancerresearchuk.org/

For advice on screening speak to your GP.