Shailesh Vara, MP for North West Cambridgeshire, has pledged to support the national charity Beating Bowel Cancer to save lives from the UK’s second biggest cancer killer.
Mr Vara attended beating Bowel Cancer’s annual Be Loud Be Clear parliamentary reception where he found out that in his constituency of North West Cambridgeshire more people are diagnosed with bowel cancer and more people die from the disease than the national average.
Mr Vara said, “The local figures are worse than the national average so it is clear that we must take bowel cancer seriously. I hope that by supporting Beating Bowel Cancer’s campaign I can encourage people to BE LOUD about bowel cancer and BE CLEAR on the symptoms of the UK’s second biggest cancer killer.”
Mark Flannagan, Chief Executive of Beating Bowel Cancer said, “I am delighted that Shailesh Vara MP is supporting Be Loud Be Clear. Bowel cancer claims a life every 30 minutes in the UK but it can be beaten. No matter what the figures say for your local area, by working together to raise awareness, we can beat bowel cancer.”
Be Loud Be Clear 2012 coincides with the launch of Be Clear on Cancer, the first NHS national bowel cancer awareness campaign. Bowel Cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer yet it can be beaten. If diagnosed early, over 90% of bowel cancer patients could be successfully treated compared with less than 7% of patients diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer.