'This poster saved my life' – heart-warming message shows effectiveness of bowel cancer symptom poster

An Avon and Somerset police officer, who initiated a bowel cancer awareness campaign at work, was thrilled to see our symptoms posters had hit the spot after someone wrote a message on one saying: 'This poster saved my life. Thank you.'

Inspector Stuart King wanted to raise awareness about bowel cancer among his colleagues following his own experience of having treatment to remove pre-cancerous polyps from his colon. He decided to start a 'Toilet Door Campaign'. He got in touch with us for 600 posters, which he distributed to be displayed on the toilet doors throughout the buildings used by the force's 6,000 employees.

Stuart said: "I decided I wanted to raise awareness of bowel cancer with colleagues and visitors who used our buildings. People are often embarrassed around the symptoms of the disease and I hoped to help reduce that stigma and encourage people to contact their doctor if they had any concerns.

"I was humbled to be sent a photo of a poster from one of our central Bristol police station staff toilets, with the message 'This poster saved my life. Thank you' written on it. It shows how such a simple scheme can have a real-life positive impact."

Genevieve Edwards, our Chief Executive, said: "This is just brilliant – we're thrilled to see such a direct and positive result from something as simple as displaying a poster on a toilet door. Stuart has done a fantastic job getting the word out to so many people.

"Bowel cancer is our fourth most common cancer, but it's treatable and curable when it's diagnosed early. Knowing the symptoms to look out for and acting quickly really could save your life; if you're experiencing red flag symptoms of bowel cancer like changes in bowel habit, bleeding from your bottom and blood in your poo, please contact your GP straight away. They will want to see you and may ask you to do a test at home to help decide whether your symptoms need further investigation."

Avon and Somerset Police, are the largest organisation so far to run a Toilet Door Campaign, placing our posters where people experiencing symptoms are likely to find them most useful.

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