No Ifs, No Butts: ITV's Lorraine launches campaign raising awareness of bowel cancer
“Get behind your behind” is the message of a new campaign to raise awareness of bowel cancer.
ITV daytime show Lorraine wants us to feel more comfortable about discussing our toilet habits and to overcome any embarrassment.
The No Butts campaign, which is being supported by the charity Bowel Cancer UK, urges us all to pay attention to our bodies and watch out for any unusual symptoms.
What symptoms should I look out for?
Blood coming from your bottom or in your stools
Obvious change in bowel habit
Weight loss you can't explain
Extreme tiredness
Lump and/or pain in your tummy
Alex Hood from New Milton talks about her bowel cancer experience
Thousands of people across the South and South East are living with bowel cancer.
Alex Hood, from New Milton, was also among those living with cancer - until recently, when she was given the all clear.
She said: "My first question was, 'Am I going to die?'.
"My second question was, 'What about my children?'."
Katie Thatcher from Rochester talks about her experience
Katie Thatcher from Rochester is still undergoing treatment for her cancer.
She was first diagnosed and treated in her 20s, but it recently returned.
"It wasn't so much of a shock this time as I knew it could comeback at anytime," she said.
"However life is different now, I'm married, I've got two children, so that was my most worrying thing."
Katie said she was "fortunate" as her cancer had been caught early, and now wants to help people "by spreading the word."
In the UK, someone is diagnosed with bowel cancer every 15 minutes and a person dies from the disease every half hour.
It is our second deadliest cancer but is treatable and curable if caught early enough.
It is more common in the over 50s but affects people of all ages.
Deborah James was 35 when she was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer.
She is well known for talking openly about her experience on social media and on the podcast You, Me and the Big C.
She wants people to understand the signs and symptoms to catch it early: “We campaign very very hard for people to not be embarrassed, to not worry about going to their GPs and not be embarrassed to say: ‘I've got a change of bowel habits’."
The No Butts campaign was launched this week on ITV’s Lorraine to coincide with Bowel Cancer Awareness Month.
For more information head to https://www.itv.com/lorraine/.