Inflatable colon at shopping centre to highlight symptoms of bowel cancer

Shoppers at Churchill Square are being invited to walk through a giant inflatable colon to find out how to lower their risk of getting bowel cancer.
By The Newsroom
Published 7th Apr 2017, 18:00 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 03:41 BST
An inflatable colon at Churchill Sqaure will aim to raise awarness of bowel cancer symptoms SUS-170604-151042001An inflatable colon at Churchill Sqaure will aim to raise awarness of bowel cancer symptoms SUS-170604-151042001
An inflatable colon at Churchill Sqaure will aim to raise awarness of bowel cancer symptoms SUS-170604-151042001

The health team at Albion in the Community (AITC), the official charity arm of Brighton and Hove Albion FC, will be in the Brighton shopping centre on Saturday (April 8) as part of its Speak Up Against Cancer project.

Sue Brown, AITC’s cancer prevention coordinator, said: “The inflatable is a walkthrough replica of the human colon and is used to demonstrate various stages of bowel cancer and other diseases of the large intestine.

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“The tour through it provides audiences with answers to questions in a fun and novel way and breaks down the taboos surrounding the disease.

“We will be in the promotion court in Churchill Square all day, so there will be time to learn more and raise any concerns about a subject that we all need to know more about.”

The team will be joined in Churchill Square by volunteers with experience of cancer, bowel screening nurses and cancer nurses from Macmillan Cancer Support.

They will be available to talk to passers-by about the early signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, the screening service and how people can reduce the risk of getting bowel cancer.

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Brighton & Hove Albion mascot Gully will also be making an appearance between 10am and midday and fans can also enter a free prize draw to win a signed Albion shirt.

Speak Up is funded by NHS Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group and Brighton and Hove City Council Public Health with the aim of increasing awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer and improving local early detection rates of a range of cancers, including bowel.

Around one in 20 people will get bowel cancer in their lifetime and every year around 140 people in Brighton and Hove are diagnosed with the condition.

AITC has also launched a new website for its Speak Up project providing information around the early signs and symptoms of the most common cancers, as well as NHS screening services and contact information for local support services and stories from local cancer survivors.

For more information on Speak Up Against Cancer, call 01273 878261, email: [email protected] or visit: www.speakupagainstcancer.org

Related topics:Churchill SquareCommunitySue BrownAlbionMacmillan Cancer SupportHove