Lanarkshire woman says bowel screening saved her life A Lanarkshire woman is urging people aged between 50 and 74 to take up the offer of a free bowel screening test, which she says saved her life. Linda Sodden from Law was diagnosed with bowel cancer after completing a routine bowel screening test. Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in Scotland. Approximately 4,000 people are diagnosed with the disease every year. The Scottish Bowel Screening Programme will invite all men and women in Scotland between the ages of 50 to 74 for screening every two years. Last year in Lanarkshire, only 47% completed the test that they were sent. Linda said: “There were no symptoms. My husband had a brain tumour at the time. So when the test came, it took a while for me to do it. I kept putting it off as I had so many other things on. “I went in for a colonoscopy and was told that they had to take my whole bowel out. I had four cancerous tumours and my bowel was covered in polyps. I thought I was going to die. “My mother died of bowel cancer. So I thought when you have bowel cancer, then that’s it for you.” Linda also had her left ovary removed after a scan at the time discovered a lump. Linda said: “If it wasn’t for the bowel screening, I would be dead. “I saw no blood in my bowel. We don’t scrutinise what come out of you. You just pull the plug and that’s it. You don’t look at what’s there. “Your bowel has four levels and one of the tumours was through to the third level. If it had gone to the fourth level, it would have been right through me and I would have been dead.” Linda has nothing but praise for the healthcare staff who nursed her back to health. Linda added: “My doctor and the nurses were marvellous. They kept me informed of everything that was going on. They were absolutely brilliant. It is amazing the things that they can do for people.” Linda is now encouraging everyone who receives a test to complete it. She said: “There were no signs of my cancer. You don’t know what’s happening inside your body. I thought I was as healthy as I could be. “Everyone should do that test. It only takes a minute on three days. There’s nothing in it, it’s so simple. The more checks that can be done with cancer then the better it will be. “People think that cancer is a death sentence. But most cancers can be cured if they are caught early enough.”
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 09:02:51 +0000
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