Behind the emergency. Danny Beales MP reflects on today’s parliamentary event

I know how devastating a bowel cancer diagnosis can be for an individual and their families from my own personal experience. My mother, who has experienced cancer in various forms, was diagnosed with bowel cancer several years ago. After aggressive treatment, she fortunately recovered, but as a result, lives with a stoma and the ongoing impacts this has on her life.

Fortunately, my mother was diagnosed in time for treatment. However, for around one in four bowel cancer cases in the UK, it happens suddenly in an emergency setting such as A&E. This can be shocking and devastating for patients and their loved ones, and usually means the cancer is more advanced, making treatment more difficult and lowering survival chances. The frustrating thing is that although 17,400 people die from bowel cancer in the UK every year, it's also one of the most treatable cancers if caught early.

This is why tackling emergency diagnosis and putting this issue firmly on the political agenda is so important. Today I had the pleasure of hosting an event on behalf of Bowel Cancer UK to start this conversation and launch a new report “Behind the Emergency”.  At the reception we saw parliamentarians from all the major parties, healthcare professionals and patients come together to unite behind this important issue.

It’s clear through the stories told in “Behind the Emergency” how crucial this work is. The report highlighted the experiences of the bowel cancer community who went through an emergency diagnosis. I was able to read about the impact this can have not only on an individual, but also on their families. Attendees to our event also heard a powerful story from Sana Shaikh, a patient from the East Midlands who spoke about her personal experience being diagnosed with bowel cancer in A&E. It’s for these people, and the many others who have and will be diagnosed in an emergency, that we need to put a spotlight on the need for urgent action.

We still don’t know why we have this high rate of emergency diagnosis. Sometimes people face barriers getting a GP appointment, some symptoms are misdiagnosed because a patient is considered too young to have bowel cancer, some people don’t recognise the symptoms and are too busy dealing with their daily lives until it’s too late. Evidence is still patchy, and the situation across the UK remains complex, but Bowel Cancer UK and others are working together to start a conversion and understand this issue.

We have cause to be optimistic for the future. The Government’s new plan for the NHS commits to a significant focus on early diagnosis and prevention of illnesses. We will also soon see the Government’s National Cancer Plan, and I am looking forward to seeing its proposals to address earlier diagnosis of cancer, improve access to treatment, and reduce inequalities so referrals happen quickly, and bowel cancer is detected at the earliest possible stage and not in A&E.I was really moved by the event in Parliament and am committed to championing this issue in parliament, and on the Health and Social Care Committee.

We're so grateful to Danny for sponsoring this event and along with our other parliamentary champions we know our calls for a vision of a future where nobody dies of bowel cancer are being heard in parliament. Be sure to get signed up to our email list so you're the first to hear about our campaign to build on this event and end emergency diagnosis of bowel cancer.