By Pamela McGowan Health reporter

Last updated at 12:00, Thursday, 24 March 2011

A former Carlisle teacher who battled bowel cancer is urging people not to let fear or embarrassment stop them from taking part in the national screening programme.

David Howe

David Howe, 65, was super fit, healthy and had no obvious symptoms when his cancer was detected last summer.

He now says that had he ignored the screening kit when it came through the post his cancer may not have been detected until it was too late or had spread elsewhere.

But thanks to quick action, outdoor loving David, who works as a part- time tour guide and teaches English to foreign people locally, was back walking Hadrian’s Wall just a week after surgery last November.

And although he is still undergoing chemotherapy, he has even started running again.

The national bowel cancer screening programme sees home test kits sent out to everyone aged between 60 and 69 on a two-yearly basis.

Participants are asked to send back a sample, which is then tested for signs of cancer or similar complications.

David, who lives with wife Kathy, 62, in Lansdowne Crescent, Stanwix, did exactly that. The first time he was given the all-clear, but two years later he was asked to take a re-test and then referred to hospital.

Tests at Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary found three small growths called polyps, one of which was found to be cancerous.

It was a huge shock for David and of course Kathy, who said she felt like their world had just imploded.

But her husband decided the best approach was a positive one.

He said: “When you’re sitting in a room with the surgeon and he tells you something like that, what can you do?

“You can give in but I’m a firm believer that if you give in to things like this they come and get you. I just decided to get on with it, stay positive and to be honest I found the whole thing incredibly fascinating. It’s amazing what they can do these days. You just have faith in them.”

A member of St Michael’s Church in Stanwix and himself a street preacher, David also turned to his faith, friends and the power of prayer.

He firmly believes that this, combined with radiotherapy treatment, helped to shrink the tumour prior to his major operation in November.

During surgery, doctors removed a third of his colon and two-thirds of his rectum as well as several lymph nodes.

He is now undergoing a mild course of chemotherapy to mop up any further cancer that may not have been caught.

Although he is not quite back to full fitness, David says he is not far off and now wants to show others that bowel cancer does not mean the end.

“I think a lot of people – and men especially – don’t take the test because they are embarrassed about bowels and bottoms, but it really can save your life,” he says.

“I wasn’t in any of the at-risk groups. I’m healthy, active, eat a balanced vegetarian diet, don’t smoke and only have alcohol in moderation. The doctor said I was just unlucky.

“I think there is also an element of fear. People don’t want to know. But it’s better to know and be able to do something about it than wait until it is too late,” added David.

“To be honest I see myself as one of the lucky ones to have had it caught so early.”

David, who taught at Morton School in Carlisle and later as a supply teacher, is now determined to help break down the taboo that still surrounds this form of cancer.

He has even spoken from the pulpit about his experience and refuses to be embarrassed to talk about his bowels.

PMcGowan@cngroup.co.uk

First published at 11:29, Thursday, 24 March 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk