Behind the emergency: panel discussion on bowel cancer diagnoses in A&E and report launch
Healthcare professional insights into understanding and reducing emergency bowel cancer diagnoses
Registration for this event has now closed. You'll be able to read the report in full below from when it is published on Wednesday 8 July 2026.
About the event
On Wednesday 8 July 2026 at 12-1pm we hosted an online panel discussion exploring our clinician insight report on emergency bowel cancer diagnosis, which builds on our report in to patient experiences. The report was launched the same day.
About one in four people with bowel cancer are diagnosed in an emergency, often in A&E. It’s shocking, devastating and usually means the cancer is more advanced – making treatment harder and survival chances lower. And it doesn’t have to be this way. We're working with healthcare professionals, patients, researchers and the wider cancer sector to better understand why this happens and what to do about it.
In this event, we brought together healthcare professionals, our policy lead and a patient representative to launch the report and discuss why emergency diagnoses are still happening, what clinicians are seeing and what needs to change.
Event details:
- When: Wednesday 8 July 2026, 12-1pm
- Where: Online
- Who's it for: Healthcare professionals, policymakers, cancer organisations, patient groups and civil servants
Agenda
- 12pm to 12.05pm - Welcome and introduction (Genevieve Edwards, CEO, Bowel Cancer UK)
- 12.05pm to 12.10pm - Report findings (Phil Satherley, Senior Policy Manager, Bowel Cancer UK)
What clinicians are seeing on the ground, and how they think things could change. - 12.10pm to 12.15pm - A patient's lived experience (Marie Bennett)
A personal account of being diagnosed with bowel cancer in an emergency. - 12.15pm to 12.30pm - Clinician perspectives (Dr Heather Wilkes, Dr Daniah Thomas, Dr Ajay Verma)
Perspectives from primary care, secondary care and data, and what needs to change. - 12.30pm to 12.50pm - Discussion and Q&A
- 12.50pm to 1pm - Reflections and next steps
Panelists
Alongside hearing from Marie Bennett about her lived experience of bowel cancer, we'll be hearing from the following clinicians
Dr Daniah Thomas:
Dr Daniah Thomas is a medical oncology registrar based in South Wales. She is currently working as a clinical innovation fellow within NHS Wales looking at emergency presentations of colorectal cancer, with a particular focus on demographics and outcomes, with an aim to guide further work in this area to improve patient outcomes.
Dr Ajay Verma:
Dr Ajay Verma is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, with a specialist interest in colorectal cancer. He leads research across the East Midlands as Research Director for University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and is Chief Investigator for the CRUK-funded COLO-PREVENT study. He is Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Leicester and has served as chair of the British Society of Gastroenterology's colorectal section committee.
Dr Heather Wilkes:
Dr Heather Wilkes is a GP in South Wales with 32 years of experience. She led the development of Rapid Diagnosis Clinics in Swansea, which were subsequently rolled out across all health boards in Wales. She has been involved in the development of cancer services locally and nationally for many years, including services focused on earlier diagnosis of colorectal cancer.
