Leeds teacher urges people to get tested after mum dies of bowel cancer - as a quarter of people not screened

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A Leeds teacher whose mum died of bowel cancer before having the chance to see him become a dad is urging people to get tested.

Sue Coleman was diagnosed with the disease in 2017. She was just 56-years-old when she died five years later.

It left her son, Elliot, a teacher at Leeds College of Building, to raise his teenage siblings. The 34-year-old, who lives in Meanwood with his partner, is expecting his first baby in December.

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Elliot Coleman is calling for people to get tested for bowel cancer after his mum, Sue, died in 2022.Elliot Coleman is calling for people to get tested for bowel cancer after his mum, Sue, died in 2022.
Elliot Coleman is calling for people to get tested for bowel cancer after his mum, Sue, died in 2022. | Cancer Research UK

He is calling for as many people as possible to get screened for the disease using home testing kits, as new research found that more than a quarter of people in Yorkshire and the Humber do not take up invitations for screening.

This week, it was announced that Cancer Research UK has funded almost £300,000 towards work that is hoped will improve screening uptake.

Elliot said: "I welcome absolutely anything which will encourage people to use the NHS FIT (faecal immunochemical test) home kits.

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"My mum was not offered screening as she wasn’t eligible due to her age. However, after watching her endure five years of emotional and physical pain along with the strain the family endured, and at times we felt helpless – I would strongly urge everyone who is eligible, to take the test and return it."

His mum initially went to the GP because of an overactive thyroid gland that was making her feel exhausted. But it was only when she saw a different GP that an endoscopy was offered, revealing a tumour in her bowel.

Further tests showed that Sue, who lived in Pool-in-Wharfedale, had stage 4 bowel cancer.

Throughout her battle with cancer, she underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery to her bottom, lung and pelvic region. As a result, she was left with a stoma and ileostomy bag, part of her lung was removed and she experienced reduced mobility to her right leg.

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Despite enduring five years of relentless treatment, the cancer continually returned, spread to multiple parts of Sue’s body and sadly became untreatable. In her final months, Sue was cared for at St Gemma’s Hospice, where she died surrounded by family and loved ones in 2022.

Sue Coleman, from Pool-in-Wharfedale, died at the age of 56 after a five year battle with bowel cancer.Sue Coleman, from Pool-in-Wharfedale, died at the age of 56 after a five year battle with bowel cancer.
Sue Coleman, from Pool-in-Wharfedale, died at the age of 56 after a five year battle with bowel cancer. | Cancer Research UK

Elliot said: "The shame or embarrassment people may feel at the prospect of having their stool tested to prevent bowel cancer, is not comparable to the feeling of knowing that my mum will never meet my child and become a grandma, that she wasn’t there for my sister’s prom or there for my brother when he passed his GCSEs."

New research at the University of Leeds will look at increasing the return of the screening kits as part of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme by attempting to improve motivation levels and linking screening to a deadline.

In Scotland, bowel screening rates improved after letters were issued with a specific deadline for returning the FIT sample. Currently, in England, when letters are sent out with the test kit, there is no suggested date for returning it.

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Professor Daryl O’Connor, who is leading the research, said: "In addition to increasing the uptake of screening, we also want to reach out to under-served communities and ethnically diverse communities who can be less likely to return the kits for lots of different reasons.

"There can be many factors why people don’t return the screening kits – embarrassment, shame or lack of time. We want to understand why and what we can do to improve the situation."

Every year, around 3,800 people in Yorkshire and the Humber are diagnosed with bowel cancer, but the NHS has said that more than a quarter of people in the region are not taking up invitations for bowel cancer screenings.

Naser Turabi, director of evidence and implementation at Cancer Research UK, said: “Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, taking more than 16,000 lives a year.

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"Early detection is key in improving survival rates for the disease. Screening is designed to detect bowel cancer before any symptoms develop.

"Even if the kit does show something out of the ordinary, it doesn’t mean it will turn out to be cancer. But if it is cancer, catching it at an early stage means it is easier to treat successfully."

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