High bowel cancer rate in Dungannon District
PEOPLE living in the Dungannon District are twice as likely to die from bowel cancer as in other parts of the UK.
According to latest research, there are 22 bowel cancer deaths per 100,000 in the local population. compared to a Northern Ireland average of 19 deaths.
The worst in the UK is Glasgow, with 31 people per 100,000 dying per year from the disease. The while the best is Rossendale, Lancashire, where there are nine deaths per the same number of people.
Worryingly, there has been a 25 percent increase in bowel cancer cases diagnosed in the Dungannon district since 2005, when there were 29 new cases of the disease in the local population.
Latest figures from the Department of Health show that there were 36 newly diagnosed cases of bowel cancer in the Dungannon area, compared to 20 in the Cookstown district, and 22 in the Omagh district.
Moyle district had the lowest number of new cases at just 8, while Belfast had the highest at 183.
Bowel cancer is the 3rd most common cancer in the UK after breast and lung cancer. In the UK more than 41,000 people are diagnosed with large bowel cancer each year.
The Beating Bowel Cancer charity has launched an interactive map where internet users can put in their postcode to see how their area fares.
Reasons for the high local figures could include low uptake of screening and a lack of awareness of symptoms, the charity said.
Chief executive Mark Flannagan said: “Too many people are dying from bowel cancer, no matter where they live. Deaths from bowel cancer could, and should, be much less common. Early diagnosis is key so we are calling on people to take responsibility for their bowel cancer risk.
“People can give themselves a life-saving chance by being aware of bowel cancer symptoms and taking part in bowel cancer screening when it is offered to them.”
He called the regional figures “intriguing”, adding: “It will be extremely important for local NHS organisations to examine information for their own areas and use it to inform potential changes in delivery of services.”
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Weather for Dungannon
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 8 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
