I was at the Brighton Marathon on Sunday, nope not running it, just the thought of that makes me feel a little bit sick, but supporting the runners that were running for Beating Bowel Cancer. Brighton is one of the areas I cover so it was nice for me to go along and cheer the runners on as they pushed themselves along the gruelling 26 mile course. I am full of admiration for Marathon runners, it takes so much dedication and training and must be, quite frankly, exhausting. My mum volunteered to come and support the charity as well so it was great to have her there. One of my friends took part (she is also doing the London one as well – crazy!) and she waved at us as she came by at the halfway point – she looked fresh as a daisy, how?? If that was me I’d be crawling by that point, I won’t even look like that halfway through my 10K! In fact my goal, other than completing the course is not to throw up at the finish line as I did when I took part in a 5K many years ago! The Marathon had a fantastic atmosphere and I was glad to be a part of it in some way and it’s great that people are running for us at Beating Bowel Cancer.

Bowel Cancer is the UK’s 2nd biggest cancer killer and yet it’s a cancer that still does not get the exposure it should. People are still too embarrassed to talk about their bowels and yet they shouldn’t be – early diagnosis is the key to saving lives. I can totally relate to the embarrassment factor but once you poo into a bag attached to your stomach it’s suddenly not so embarrassing anymore! This month is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and at work we have a #LiftTheLid campaign which is to get people talking and raising awareness of symptoms http://www.beatingbowelcancer.org/liftthelid. I hope I can encourage people to talk about their poo and bums and help people to realise it’s not so bad.

Yesterday I was at Channel Radio on Who Cares Wins radio show talking about the Charity and our work, the presenters were really supportive and it was a great opportunity to promote Beating Bowel Cancer. I also love a microphone so any excuse to talk into one! But if you fancy a listen then you have until Monday http://www.channelradio.co.uk/listen-again-Monday/ and pick the Who Cares Wins section.

I have always said that when you go to hospital you leave your dignity at the front door and if you are lucky you pick it up on the way out! When I was admitted in 2011 (before op) I was given a side room for a couple of days. Anyone who has been in hospital will also know that the doctors do their rounds once a day and you don’t want to miss them, it’s your only chance to discuss your illness and treatment. So in a side room you only need to be in the loo to miss the rounds, I was often in the toilet due to the nature of my illness, and on one occasion I heard the doctors come in – so I shouted “please wait, I won’t be long”, I exited the toilet to be greeted by three very good looking junior doctors! Oh the shame, I couldn’t believe it, I was stood there in my moo cow pyjamas knowing these doctors knew I’d been for a poo! But I got over it – you have to, and have never been embarrassed since, even when Dr McDreamy (as my sister referred to him) had to question me on the frequency of my stool movements! So you see, it’s not so bad! So talk about your poo, read up on the symptoms, listen to your body and get checked out if you are not sure.

Oh and if you want to encourage my little 10K then text SHER78 £5 to 70070 and not only will it give me a boost it will also pay for a ‘Just Diagnosed’ information pack to go out to a worried bowel cancer patient.