AM pledges to help stop bowel cancer

Rebecca Evans AM, Assembly Member for Gower, has pledged to help stop bowel cancer. 

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in Wales. Every year 2,200 people are diagnosed, and over 900 people die from the disease, making bowel cancer the second biggest cancer killer. 
 
After meeting people affected by bowel cancer at the launch of Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer’s ‘Spotlight on bowel cancer’ report at the Senedd, Rebecca Evans AM said: 
 
“Early identification is crucial. Nearly everyone diagnosed at the earliest stage of the disease will survive, however survival rates drop significantly for people who are diagnosed at the later stages. 
 
“For Wales’ screening programmes to reach their full potential, uptake needs to increase and we must continue to invest in more accurate and accessible tests. That is why I am pleased that Wales will be implementing better and more user-friendly testing for bowel cancer screening this year.” 

Lowri Griffiths, Head of Wales at Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer, said: “I’m delighted that Rebecca Evans AM has pledged to stop bowel cancer. By working together with people affected by the disease and the clinical and research community, as well as AMs, the charity can achieve its vision that by 2050 no one will die from bowel cancer in Wales and the rest of the UK.”