Grandad of four thanks UHNM bowel cancer screening programme that saved his life

A grandad of four has praised the lifesaving teams from University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) who helped him survive an aggressive form of bowel cancer. 

George Bradbury, 69, was diagnosed with the disease thanks to a routine screening kit, and needed robotic surgery at the Royal Stoke University Hospital to remove two thirds of his bowel in April 2022. 

The car body shop owner from Meir Park says he owes his life to UHNM’s bowel cancer screening programme, and this bowel cancer awareness month, is encouraging others to be aware of the symptoms and complete their screening. 

George said: “I had been noticing blood in the toilet for around five days when purely by coincidence my routine bowel cancer screening arrived in the post. Three days after returning a sample I had a letter from UHNM’s bowel cancer screening team inviting me to the Royal Stoke for a colonoscopy. 

“The colonoscopy found four polyps at the end of the bowel which were removed and sent off for a biopsy. The results confirmed the largest of these was an aggressive form of cancer. 

“When I heard the news, instead of falling to pieces, something clicked in my head and I thought to myself, I’ve got a battle on here. As the cancerous polyp had been removed, my consultant gave me the option to either monitor the bowel to see how things progress or remove the bowel to eliminate the risk of it spreading. Straight away I opted for the surgery, and within a month I was back home recovering and counting the days until I could get back to work at my garage.”

Over 43,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year, with bowel cancer the second largest cause of cancer deaths in England.  

UHNM’s bowel cancer screening programme has been running since 2008 and covers a catchment area of over 900,000 people across Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire along with Stafford and surrounding areas. The service helps provide timely and effective treatment to approximately 2,000 patients a year.

Carol Beeston, lead nurse for bowel cancer at UHNM, said: “Our nurse-led bowel cancer screening programme aims to detect cancers at an early stage when treatment is more likely to be effective. Bowel cancer symptoms are either very subtle and often discounted as another issue, or even asymptomatic, so many people remain undiagnosed for long periods assuming they are fit and well. 

“That’s why it’s vital we encourage eligible patients aged between 50-74 to complete their bowel cancer screening kit every two years, or to seek GP advice when they think they have any of the symptoms of bowel cancer for more than three weeks including blood in poo, a change in bowel habit, stomach ache, loss in weight or lumps in stomach. Anybody over the age of 75 can also choose to opt-in. Early detection is key, every 30 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with bowel cancer.

“90-per-cent of patients that come through the clinic are not diagnosed with cancer, but by catching any cancers early we can provide more effective treatment.”  

To thank those involved in his treatment, George held a fundraising pool event for UHNM Charity in November 2024 raising over £2,200. 
      
George said, “The care at UHNM was fantastic, I can’t praise the whole journey enough. I was seen to so quickly and promptly, the staff were amazing and anything I needed they were there. Seeing members of the programme attend my fundraising pool event and raise so much money for their work was very humbling. 

“Since my journey I’ve been encouraging family and friends to complete their screening kits. UHNM’s bowel cancer screening programme are saving people’s lives, and I encourage anybody to do the same thing as me to be aware of the symptoms of bowel cancer and get tested when you get the letter.”