We shine a spotlight on bowel cancer at Eisteddfod Festival
Thursday 26 July 2018
TV and radio presenter Garry Owen, colorectal surgeon Gethin Williams and Assembly Member Steffan Lewis will shine a spotlight on bowel cancer in Wales, at an event we’re hosting with Cardiff University, at the National Eisteddfod of Wales on Tuesday 7 August.
If you’ve been affected by bowel cancer or hoping to learn more about the disease, you can join the free Q&A at 2:30pm – 4pm. Gary and Gethin will cover bowel cancer symptoms, the importance of screening and treatment advances in Wales, and Steffan will share his personal experience of being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer. There’s also an opportunity for the audience to ask their own questions.
Garry Owen, whose wife was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014, said: "This will be an opportunity to learn more about bowel cancer. Many of the questions that I'll be asking could well come from personal experience following my wife's diagnosis. Thankfully, after treatment and excellent care, she is now fit and well."
Steffan Lewis, Assembly Member for South East Wales, was diagnosed at the end of 2017 and talks openly about his experience: “I’ll never forget the day I was diagnosed and my whole world collapsed, but I’ll also always be grateful to those people in the NHS who have provided me with such care and support. The entire bowel cancer journey is daunting, scary and unpredictable; from colorectal surgery through to chemotherapy and its side-effects. But we must learn to talk more about it as a society so we can eventually defeat this dreadful disease.”
Lowri Griffiths, Head of Wales at Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Cardiff University, who have invested important research into advances in bowel cancer treatment, including maximising effectiveness of colonoscopies and progressive immunotherapies for advanced disease.
“At this year’s National Eisteddfod of Wales we hope to inform the public about bowel cancer, the nation’s second biggest cancer killer. It promises to be an exciting event discussing the importance of early diagnosis and highlighting significant treatment and research developments. Thank you to everyone involved for making this informative session possible.”
Earlier in the year, we launched a new report in Wales that highlighted just over half of patients diagnosed with bowel cancer survive for five years or more (58%), five out of the seven health boards breach waiting times for tests that can diagnose bowel cancer and an alarmingly low number of eligible people take part in the bowel screening programme.
Members of the public can attend the event which will take place at the Cardiff University Tent (No. 33) at 2:30pm on Tuesday 7 August. It will be in Welsh, with translation facilities available.
The National Eisteddfod of Wales will be held in Cardiff for the first time in a decade from Friday 3 August – Saturday 11 August.
- Read our Wales report
- Learn more about our work in Wales
- Sign up for our Walk Together event in Cardiff