New campaign uses Walkmans and Chopper bikes to raise awareness of bowel cancer

ITV Granada Reports journalist Tim Scott reports on the new campaign and the benefits of home testing.

A new campaign has employed staples of the 60s and 70s to encourage people to get tested for bowel cancer.

The "Remember when..." campaign from North West Cancer Research calls on people aged 54 and over to complete and return their home bowel cancer screening kits.

The campaign features items such as a Walkman and old-school televisions, with the message: "Remember this? Then it's time to complete your bowel cancer screening kit."

Bowel cancer is the North West’s second biggest cause of cancer deaths, with the region having more cases than any other.

Dr Dale Vimalachandran, a consultant colorectal surgeon at the Countess of Chester Hospital, says the figures are worrying.

He said: "The North West is a particular outlier compared to all other regions in the country.

"The number of incidents is the highest, and the outcomes are among the worst across the country. That probably reflects that we’re picking up the disease at a later stage."

Karen Glover, a teaching assistant from Chester, is proof that screening works, after a home kit detected her bowel cancer before she developed any symptoms.

She said: "Doing the test either saved my life, or stopped the cancer from spreading.

"I think the cancer would have progressed, it would have spread. I had no symptoms whatsoever to suggest I should go to the doctors."

Thanks to it being caught so early, Karen is able to live a normal life.

She said: "There was no spread of the cancer anywhere. Obviously I get tested for the next five years, but as far as we're concerned the cancer is gone."

In England, everyone aged 54 to 74 is automatically sent a test kit every two years, yet new figures show only a third of people send them off.

Dr Vimalachandran says the home kits can dramatically effect a patients chances.

He said: "If we detect the disease at an early stage - two things: one, your outcome is much better and more importantly we have more treatment options available."

North West Cancer Research are also providing information on how to use the test kits.

As part of their guidance, they said: "Individuals use the kit to collect a small sample of poo and send it back to a lab to test for signs of cancer."

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