Something to watch.....

Further to our post earlier this week about Stephen Sutton, we have added a link to the Make-A-Wish Foundation film that was released  to share his story. It is very emotive but well worth watching for anyone who has or has had cancer; indeed all of us can learn a thing or two from this short film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvG3ifEd0t0

Here is a young man who thinks differently because he has to.

Watch it and see what you think.

It certainly made us.

Survivorship

You may have seen or heard in the headlines that the ten year survival rate for cancer has doubled since the 1970's. This is really positive news for the UK. Early detection is vital and the screening programmes such as the "poo test" that was rolled out here in Somerset in 2008 has an important part to play in picking up those  early cancers. The next step to catching the disease earlier is the introduction of the "one-off" flexible sigmoidoscopy test offered to people at the age of 55 years. This is in addition to the "poo test" that is currently offered and is said to increase the chances of survival from colorectal cancer. This government has committed to providing this programme by 2016/17; here in Somerset there will be a slow and gradual roll out across the county. This means that from the age of 55 to 75 you are actively being encouraged to be proactive about your own health by attending screening. 

We thoroughly recommend that you take up these offers - they may save your life.

An amazing young man

There is no doubt that the story that has created a huge amount of media interest over the last week is that of Stephen Sutton; a young man who was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the very young age of 15. At just nineteen he is facing incurable cancer in a way that it hugely inspiring. If you have not read his story then here is the link;

https://www.facebook.com/StephensStory

As part of a "bucket list" to achieve before he died Stephen aimed to raise £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust. He has smashed this target by raising in excess of 3 million to date.

There is no question that Stephen is an amazing young man, bearing his disease with fortitude. He shows the world courage in the face of adversity as well as tenacity.

We are thinking of you and willing you on; in the words of Shakespeare
" Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon 'em". Stephen, you are one of those rare people that perhaps embody all three sentiments. Our thoughts are with you and your family. Long may you be great.

Thinking of you

We would like to add our thoughts and sympathies to the newsreader Mr George Alagiah, who has been diagnosed with bowel cancer. Whilst it is a difficult time for you and your family with a need for privacy, please take heart from the many who have also walked this road and are here to add their voices to the wishes for your speedy recovery; you do not walk this road alone. Make use of those professionals who are there to help you, do not be too proud to accept those offers of help, however simple they may be. In the words of George Eliot
" What do we not live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other."
We are thinking of you.

Sporting folk

We have had a number of enquiries from people who wish to raise the profile of our charity by undertaking a sporting event or challenge for which they are sponsored. Firstly, can we just say a big "THANK YOU" for thinking of us; we are a small charity and this is such a welcome response. We are always delighted should anyone wish to do this and, now that we have our new logo, we would be happy to provide you with a T-shirt for the event and our official sponsorship forms.

Please contact the team on 01823 342452, Monday-Friday or leave a message on the 24 hour answermachine should you wish to discuss your forthcoming event.

Plus, if during the event your efforts are photographically recorded, we would be delighted and proud to publish them on our website with you wearing your Somerset Bowel Cancer Support Group T-shirt.

Over the last few years we have had someone who was sponsored to scale Ben Nevis, a cake sale, a  Gun Dog Show and many more. We are always delighted to hear about  and see the many ways in which you raise awareness of bowel cancer.

Annual General Meeting

We are due to hold our Annual General Meeting on Saturday 10th May at the Monkton Heathfield Village Hall, Nr. Taunton between 10 am - 2pm. We have today sent out invites to those that we know would like to come. If you would like to attend and hear what we have been doing over the last year then you are very welcome. We do however ask that you let us know that you will be coming for catering and venue size purposes. As with any venue there is always a limit to the number we can accommodate. 

We will be welcoming in a new Chairperson and announcing a new patron for the group. As well as this we will be giving details of our annual Autumn event for which we have some interesting speakers lined up. We will also be detailing how as a fundraising charity we are supporting our local District General Hospital.

It is good to meet you all and have the chance to chat with like minded people.

Please ring 01823 342452 and speak to the team, Mon-Fri 9-5 pm or leave a message on the answer machine to let us know the number of attendees in you party.

We do hope you can join us and very much look forward to seeing you all there.

Welcome

Welcome to the new Somerset Bowel Cancer Support Group blog.

We are delighted to announce this new venture in to the world of technology. This is a first for us, so please bear with us during any teething problems.

You may ask why we have chosen to start a blog and the honest answer to that is that we simply want to reach as many of you as we can. Technology is featuring more and more in everyday life so we thought we would, in the words of Neil Armstrong, make that "one giant leap for mankind" and go live.

Some of you may already be aware of us and already attend some of our events, undertake fundraising or simply have in common the fact that you or a relative has had a diagnosis of bowel cancer. We wish you all a warm welcome and hope that you will follow us and keep up to date with what we are doing. Some of you may even want to contribute to our group in any way that you can and we are always grateful for any help, whatever you choose to do.

We are also in the process of updating our website:
www.somersetbowelcancer.org.uk. The eagle eyed amongst our current followers may spot that we have a new logo designed for us by a local artist  who contributed his services and artistic talent pro bono to produce a logo that is recognisable as something that says "Somerset" at a glance. For the health conscious, there could also be a subliminal message in using fruit as our logo! We think it is redolent of Somerset and hope you agree.

We will aim to keep you up to date with news and events via this blog.