Media

A journalist's guide

For all media enquiries, contact our press office on 020 7940 1760 (press 4 in the options) or email press@bowelcanceruk.org.uk. For out of hours call 07756 285 385 or 07523 682 443 (journalists only please).

The facts about bowel cancer

Here are some useful statistics to give you an overview of bowel cancer in the UK:

• Bowel cancer is the UK's second biggest cancer killer, claiming more than 16,800 lives a year, that's 46 people every day
• Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, after breast, prostate and lung cancers
• Every 12 minutes in the UK someone is diagnosed with bowel cancer. That's nearly 44,000 people every year. Every 30 minutes someone dies from the disease in the UK
• Bowel cancer is more common in the over 50s but it can affect people of all ages. More than 2,600 people under 50 are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK every year
• 1 in 17 men and 1 in 20 women will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime
• Bowel cancer is treatable and curable, especially if diagnosed early. Nearly everyone diagnosed at the earliest stage will survive bowel cancer. However this drops significantly as the disease develops. Early diagnosis really does save lives

Who are we?

We're the UK's leading bowel cancer charity. We're determined to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer. 

• We campaign for early diagnosis and access to best treatment and care across the UK
• We support and fund targeted research to help stop people dying of bowel cancer
• We provide expert support and information for everyone affected by bowel cancer

Awards and accreditations

• We won the British Medical Association (BMA) Patient Information Award for our learning disability resource in 2013 and 2014
• We gained a Royal Society of Public Health accreditation for our health promotion volunteer programme in 2015
• We won the British Medical Association (BMA) Patient Information Self-care Award for our 'Your Diet: Living with and beyond bowel cancer' in 2015
• Our former CEO Deborah Alsina was awarded an MBE in the Queen's 90^th Birthday Honours list 2016, in recognition of her service to bowel cancer patients
• We won the Charity of the Year at the Charity Times Awards 2016, as well as being shortlisted for Campaigning Team of the Year in 2016
• Our 'Younger people with bowel cancer: a guide for the under 50s' was Highly Commended at the BMA Patient Information Awards in 2016
• We were shortlisted for Campaigning Team of the Year at the Charity Times Awards 2017
• Our previous CEO, Deborah Alsina MBE, won Chief Executive of the Year at the Third Sector Awards 2017
• Our former CEO, Deborah Alsina MBE, won Charity Principal of the Year at the Charity Times Awards 2018
• Our annual fundraiser, Step up for 30, was shortlisted for the Most Innovative Fundraising Event at the Charity Event Awards 2019
• Our new brand was shortlisted in the Brand Development category at the Third Sector Excellence Awards 2019
• Our 'Younger people with bowel cancer: a guide for the under 50s' was Highly Commended at the BMA Patient Information Awards in 2019

Interviews and case studies

We have a range of spokespeople and case studies available for interview to talk about our work and bowel cancer.

These include:

• Genevieve Edwards, Chief Executive
• Luke Squires, Director of Fundraising
• Dr Lisa Wilde, Director of Research and External Affairs
• Catherine Winsor, Director of Services
• Gerard McMahon, Head of External Affairs (Devolved Nations)

We also have a wonderful array of case studies who are happy to share their personal experiences of bowel cancer with the media.