September 2023 Newsletter

Welcome back to our newsletter

From roadshows to awards last month, we were busy raising awareness and celebrating the incredible colorectal nurses who make such a difference to our community.

Raising awareness on the road

We kicked off our bowel cancer awareness roadshows in September with a tour of Liverpool. Over three days we spoke to hundreds of members of the public and toured our inflatable bowel. We chatted about the symptoms of bowel cancer and people's experiences to help them understand the importance of early diagnosis and the screening programme.

This is the kind of lifesaving work that we can do with your support. Thank you to everyone who came along.

We're thrilled to announce the next city we'll be taking our awareness roadshow to is Belfast! Find out more here.

Write your Will for free

Leaving a gift in your Will could help us save lives. You can write your Will for free with our partners this month, either in-person, over the phone or online. There's no obligation to leave us a gift if you use these services.

You can find out more about how we can support you here. You can also request our Gifts in Wills guide here.

Congratulations to our Gary Logue Award winners

Each year, we ask health professionals, patients and their families to send us their stories of exceptional colleagues and colorectal cancer nurses. Nurses who make a significant impact to those affected by bowel cancer, provide exceptional care, and show outstanding initiative.

We're thrilled to announce that the winners of the ninth annual Gary Logue Colorectal Cancer Nurses Awards are:

• Louise Foley and Clara Denis from Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Trust are joint winners of the award for nurses nominated by their colleagues
• Jennifer Rayner from St Mary's Hospital, Newport, Isle of Wight won the award for a nurse nominated by a patient and their families

You can read more about our winners here.

Thank you for Walk Together

Thank you to everyone who's been taking part in Walk Together this month. More than 200 of you joined us on the streets of London on Saturday 16 September. With hundreds more joining virtually across September, especially with their four-legged friends, we're amazed by the support our community has shown. It means so much, and with your help we can continue our lifesaving work. Thank you!

News from our community

Find out the latest from our bowel cancer community here.

• We're excited to announce that we've welcomed four new trustees to our board. They bring a range of experience from law and accountancy to surgery and nursing. We can't wait to see the difference their expertise will bring. You can read more about our trustees here
• The Scottish Government has been reviewing screening standards across the country. They've now revised these and set the minimum levels of quality in the screening programme, wherever people are taking part in Scotland. You can find out more here
• This month, we added a new tool to our website to improve accessibility. This new tool can read text aloud, translate pages and make text easier to read. Try it out by clicking the 'Speak' button in the right top right of our website

Help us with our mission

There are plenty of ways to support our work and help ensure a future where nobody dies of bowel cancer:

• Sometimes people celebrate special occasions by asking for donations, rather than gifts. We really appreciate this kindness, and if you'd ever like to do the same, you can find out more here
• Thank you so much to all our runners who braved the elements to make this year's Great North Run a huge success. If you're interested in taking part next year, you can register now
• If you're feeling inspired after the London to Brighton cycle earlier this month, you can already sign up for this iconic ride next year

We're here if you need us

If you, or a loved one, is affected by bowel cancer we're here for you. Here are some of the ways we can help to support you:

• We have lots of downloadable resources about bowel cancer. You can track symptoms, find out more about colonoscopies and much more. Learn more
• Talking to others going through the same experiences can help. Our online support groups are always there for you to share experiences and connect with others in a safe space. Find out more here
• If you're supporting someone with the disease, we're here for you. Check out our family, friends and carers hub and chat to others going through the same thing

Thank you so much for your continued support, we're truly grateful.

Make sure to follow us on social media for all of our latest news and updates. You can find us on X, formerly known as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and here on LinkedIn too.

With best wishes,

Genevieve Edwards,

Chief Executive, Bowel Cancer UK.