Patient urges others to get tested this Bowel Cancer Awareness Month | News

Gill Meaker had no symptoms before a routine screening test led to her being diagnosed with bowel cancer by the team in the Cancer Centre.

The fit and active 71‑year‑old mother of two from Walton in Surrey said that receiving the diagnosis felt like the darkest day of her life, but she’s lucky to have caught the cancer early. 

As part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, Gill is now encouraging others not to ignore their screening invitation - something she credits with saving her life.

“I am so lucky that I had the screening,” said Gill “and now my cancer has been treated and I’m in remission, I’m much more positive about life. 

“I’d definitely recommend taking a screening test - it’s done in the privacy of your own home and it takes less than two minutes. Why wouldn’t you do it?

“If I hadn’t taken part, the cancer would have grown and could have spread. My outcome could have been so different.”

Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is one of the most common cancers in the UK, with around 1 in 20 people developing it during their lifetime. 

Screening plays a vital role in saving lives, as it can detect cancer at an early stage, when treatment is more likely to be successful. It can also identify and remove polyps, small growths in the bowel that may develop into cancer over time.

The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme invites people aged 50 to 74 to take part every two years using a simple FIT (faecal immunochemical test) kit sent to their home. The kits are analysed by a screening hub, and if traces of blood are detected, patients are referred to a Bowel Cancer Screening Centre for further assessment.

The Trust hosts the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme’s Southern Hub, which serves a population of 16 million people living across the South of England and receives around 12,000 samples per day.

Gill completed her FIT test at home shortly before Christmas 2024 and was informed on New Year’s Eve that traces of blood had been found, meaning she needed a colonoscopy. During the procedure, doctors discovered three polyps in her bowel and one in her colon.

After a discussion with her consultant, Gill was advised she needed to lose more than two stone before surgery could safely be carried out. Gill was determined to lose the weight as quickly as possible and just 10 weeks later had achieved her target weight loss. 

She underwent surgery at Royal Surrey County Hospital to remove the polyps and was told that cancerous cells had been found in her colon.

She added: “Nothing prepares you for the shock of hearing you have cancer. I thought I was reasonably healthy and I didn’t have any symptoms. It was a real wake‑up call.”

Gill is now in remission and continues to be closely monitored. She has regular check‑ups and another colonoscopy booked for May.

Symptoms of bowel cancer can include changes in bowel habits - such as persistent diarrhoea, looser stools or constipation - as well as blood in your poo or bleeding from the bottom. Other warning signs include stomach pain, bloating, unexplained weight loss, a lump in the abdomen, or feeling unusually tired.

Dr Iain Jourdan, Consultant, said: “Many people with bowel cancer, like Gill, have no symptoms at all, which is why screening is so important.

“If you are invited to take part in the screening, please don’t put it off. The test is quick and simple, and it allows us to detect cancer at an early, more treatable stage. If you do have symptoms, no matter how small they may seem, speaking to your GP could make all the difference.”