My name is Penny Sadler and I am the newly appointed Black Country Health Promotion Co-ordinator for Bowel Cancer Screening and I will be working across Dudley, Walsall, Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire NHS organisations. My role is promoting the awareness of bowel cancer, the symptoms of this disease and to promote the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening programme in order to increase the uptake of the Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBt).

The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme has been rolled out across the Black Country and offers screening every two years to all men and women aged 60 - 69. People within this age group will automatically be sent their free screening kit. For people over the age of 70 they can contact 0800 707 60 60 and ask for a free screening kit to be sent to them. The kit is easy to complete and I strongly encourage that everyone completes the kit.

Bowel Cancer affects men and women equally, and can strike at any age; it is the UK’s second biggest cause of cancer deaths. Regular Bowel Cancer screening can reduce the risk of dying from this disease by 16%. Many of these deaths could be avoided if only the illness was detected and treated earlier, and if people understood the scale and seriousness of the disease. Early detection is crucial to lowering the number of deaths from bowel cancer. If 60% of the population completes the kit we will be saving a whopping 16,000 lives each year!

I will be attending various meetings and health festivals to promote the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme. If you are a member of a group and would like me to deliver a presentation about Bowel Cancer or have a community event taking place I would love to hear from you. For further information please contact me on 01922 44 37 35.

Kind Regards,

Penny Sadler