"DON'T suffer in silence – get yourself screened."

That's the advice from a Lincolnshire patient who was one of the first to benefit from the national Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

Arnold Offside, 70, of Alford, took the test, and was diagnosed as having early- stage colon cancer. He underwent treatment within five weeks.

Mr Offside said he was impressed by the screening service and the speed at which he was treated at Lincoln County Hospital.

He had no symptoms and the cancer could have been much more serious had it been discovered at a later date.

The screening programme was rolled out in Lincolnshire's hospitals, including Louth, in December.

Mr Offside, who now feels fit and healthy, said: "I couldn't be more impressed with the service I have received.

"When I got my test kit through the door, I wasn't going to do it, because I am very fit and healthy and didn't think I needed it.

"My wife made me do it and I'm so grateful she did. I would encourage anyone who gets a kit to take the test."

Mr Offside is one of more than 152 people who have already benefited from expert assessment after being screened countywide. While he was recovering in hospital, he was visited by the then Lincoln MP Gillian Merron and the then Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham, who were on the election campaign trail.

Within the next two years, everyone in Lincolnshire aged between 60 and 69 will be invited to undergo the screening. They will all have a test kit sent to their homes, which they then post back to a laboratory for testing.

Those whose test is positive will then be offered an appointment to see a specialist nurse at hospital.

The aim of the programme is to try to detect any bowel cancers at an early stage, in people with no symptoms, when treatment is more likely to be effective. Anyone with worrying bowel symptoms should contact their GP.

Lead specialist screening practitioner in Lincolnshire, Kirstie Cartledge, said: "Mr Offside's case is an example of why it is so important that people take the test when they receive one in the post."

Consultant gastroenterologist Dr Glenn Spencer said: "Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK and research has shown that 80 per cent of people diagnosed with this cancer are aged over 60, which is why the programme is aimed at this age group.

"This cancer can be treated much more effectively if it is detected as early as possible, and we hope that by regular screening we may be able to reduce the number of bowel cancer deaths by 16 per cent."

Find out more

For more information about the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, visit: www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/bowel or call the National Cancer Screening line on 0800 707 60 60.

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