I was turned down for a bowel testing kit and was told that at 55, I’m too young – please help

I HAVE been getting lots of questions about bowel cancer recently. For too long people have worried in silent embarrassment about their bowel habits, but things are changing.

A lot of that is down to Sun columnist Deborah James, who died from bowel cancer in June, aged 40.

Thanks to her taboo-busting campaigning, 2.8million people were tested for the disease in the last year – 20 per cent more than in 2018-19.

Plus, NHS stats show record numbers of cancer cases are being caught early, with 56.7 per cent found at stage one or two in 2021-22.

It’s vital to know the signs and symptoms, which include: A change in your normal bowel habits, bleeding from your bottom or blood in your poo, tummy pain or a lump, unexplained tiredness/breathlessness and unexplained weight loss.

Here’s what some of you asked me this week…

Q) I REQUESTED a bowel testing kit and was told that at 55, I’m too young.

My dad died of bowel cancer when he was 48 and I explained I was having three-yearly checks but now they’re saying every five years. I want to do a test.

With all the awareness about bowel cancer at the moment I’m surprised I was turned down; can you help with any advice?

A) NHS bowel cancer screening checks are available to everyone aged 60 to 74. People will automatically receive a sampling kit as part of the national roll-out.

The programme is expanding to make it available to everyone in their fifties, but this is happening gradually over the next four years, so hasn’t reached everyone in the age bracket yet.

As the screening programme is run nationally your GP can’t request special circumstances be made for individuals.

However, you could ask your GP to provide a stool sampling kit to be done anyway — outside of the screening programme.

It’s called a FIT test — and a sample of your stool is examined for any traces of blood.

The fact you are having colonoscopy assessments every five years is reassuring though, as it takes approximately ten years for a small polyp to develop into cancer, so you’re under surveillance.

But, if you ever develop signs or symptoms you think could be bowel cancer see your GP.

Q) I’M a healthy 62-year-old woman and I work full-time. Over the past eight months, I’ve developed aches and pains all over my body.

I also get tingling in the tips of my fingers and toes. I feel tired, lethargic and depressed, but I have had two good friends die in the last year.

I haven’t troubled my GP, I’ve been taking ­paracetamol but I want something stronger. I don’t want a phone consultation though, I want to see a doctor.

Lately, I feel I am in too much pain to go to work but I’ve been pushing myself, which has given me headaches and I feel like I’m having panic attacks and forgetting things.

At times I have trouble putting on socks as bending down sometimes affects my hip.

I’m not losing weight and sleep is non-existant despite me feeling tired and sleepy. I just can’t seem to sleep without feeling ­stabbing pains in different parts of my body.

A) I’m so sorry you’re experiencing this. Eight months suffering with all these symptoms must be really difficult.

You’ve got a lot of symptoms that could be menopause-related even in your 60s.

But your physical symptoms could also be linked to many other causes, including mental health conditions and an inflammatory response such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Or it could be a combination of some of these factors which is why it’s important you see your GP who can assess you fully.

If you’re struggling to get a face-to-face appointment and that’s what you really want, call your GP surgery reception and explain your circumstances.

If that doesn’t work — every practice is different in how they offer appointments — filling out an e-consult form, detailing exactly what you have written here would be a great start.

E-consults let you communicate directly with the GP and you can say you really want and need a face-to-face appointment to go through things and they should be able to arrange that for you.

Q) I HAVE had a cough since Friday, no sore throat and I’ve lost my voice.

I have no energy and lateral flow and PCR tests are both negative. Is there something going around?

A) While we can get some protection against Covid and flu with vaccination, we can only use lifestyle measures to protect ourselves from the many other viruses rife at this time of year.

Hand-washing and limiting social contacts reduces our risk of viral infection and this applies to all respiratory viruses.

You most likely have one of the “common cold” viruses that sometimes infect the larynx.

Laryngitis is when your voice box or vocal cords become irritated or swollen. The good news is it doesn’t usually cause serious illness and it tends to go away by itself within one to two weeks.