Bowel Cancer UK’s Parliamentary Reception

Barbara Hibbert, a member of our Patient-Public Group, reports back from a recent event at the Palace of Westminster.

On Wednesday 30th January Bowel Cancer UK held a Parliamentary Reception. Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer merged a year ago, which to me, as a patient, was a very welcome move. The original Bowel Cancer UK was largely concerned with research, while Beating Bowel Cancer focused on supporting patients. I was a regular on the Beating Bowel Cancer Patient Forum, - which still exists within the new charity  - but was also interested in furthering research into the disease, so I never knew which of the two charities to support when I had a bit of spare cash. Now it’s clear – there is only one, which focuses on both research and patient support!

The Reception was in the Terrace Pavilion in the House of Commons which is a great location overlooking the Thames. The speakers were excellent and included Bowel Cancer UK’s fabulous CEO, Deborah Alsina, who seems to achieve more in a week than most of us could hope to do in a year. The inspirational Lauren Backler, who spearheaded the campaign to reduce the screening age to 50 after the death of her mother also spoke. Her argument that her mother would have been screened three times before her actual diagnosis had earlier screening been in place, and so was likely to have been picked up before she became terminal also applies to me, and I was pleased to be able to speak to her afterwards. She highlighted the fact that without increased workforce capacity, reducing the screening age would not in itself achieve anything, but said that the reduction is her mum’s legacy. And a fine one! Nic Dakin MP, Chair of the All-Parliamentary Group on Cancer also spoke, but was called away when the division bell rang, as was Steve Brine MP, Minister for Cancer, but a good selection of MPs turned up to the reception and pledged to help defeat bowel cancer.

I also enjoyed meeting various people I previously only knew through the Forum, IRL (in real life!) including Deborah James who blogs as BowelBabe, has an online column in the Sun and was one third of the podcast ‘You, me and the Big C’ with Rachael Bland, who has sadly now died, and Lauren Mahon. Deborah is another one who makes the rest of us look like underachievers! But as I always say, you have to live faster with a terminal diagnosis as you have less time to achieve the things you want to achieve.

And the afternoon tea was great too!

Image credit: British Houses of Parliament by Maurice from Zoetermeer, Netherlands [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons