WATCH: 'Be a rebel, post your poo' – Highland MSP's call to raise awareness of bowel cancer symptoms
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Highlands & Islands MSP Edward Mountain has shared his personal experiences of his recent bowel cancer treatment – and is encouraging everyone to learn the symptoms and check themselves.
In a video shared on social media, the Scottish Conservative MSP also called on over-50s, who can receive bowel cancer screening tests via post, to take full advantage of the tests. He said: “Now some of you might feel queasy about doing that, but my message to you is simple: be a rebel, it's the only time that you can legally send your poo in your post to somebody else. So do that.”
Last year, Mr Mountain announced that he was undertaking treatment for bowel cancer on a well-received social media post. Since initial treatment, he continues to be monitored and is now devoted to raising awareness of the disease.
Around 43,000 people each year are diagnosed with bowel cancer, according to Bowel Cancer UK.
The organisation’s website states that “Nearly everyone survives bowel cancer if diagnosed at the earliest stage. However this drops significantly as the disease develops. Early diagnosis really does save lives.”
In his social media video, Mr Mountain said: “It was some two years ago that I was diagnosed with bowel cancer in this very office. And I have four asks this afternoon, three for you, and one for the government.
“My first ask is to you. I want you to check yourself, if you have blood in your poo, if you have a pain in your stomach, if you have irregular bowel movements, which you can't account for, or you're losing weight, please go and see your doctor it could save your life.
“My second request is that if you're over 50 and you get sent your bowel screening testing kit, that you actually do it. It's really simple, you take a sample and put it in this yellow envelope that's provided. Now some of you might feel queasy about doing that, but my message to you is simple: be a rebel, it's the only time that you can legally send your poo in your post to somebody else. So do that.
“My third ask, is an ask of the government what I would like to do is to see the government increase the sensitivity of our tests. Now I absolutely acknowledge the fact that Scotland leads the United Kingdom in bowel cancer screening. But by increasing the sensitivity from 80 to 20 we would pick up more people with bowel cancer at an early stage.
“And my final ask is one for everyone. If you see this video and you get the opportunity retweet it, it might help somebody, it might save their lives and save them going through the treatment that I had to have in the form of chemo and radiotherapy.”
