Giant inflatable bowel to promote cancer awareness

A giant inflatable model of bowels will be displayed in Luton to raise awareness of the symptoms of bowel cancer.

Bowel Cancer UK said the 19ft by 7ft (6m x 2m) model was designed so people could walk inside the inflatable and find out about symptoms.

The model will be in Market Hill from Tuesday until Thursday between 10:00 BST and 16:00.

Helen Whiteley, from Bowel Cancer UK, said the inflatable model was "a fabulous visual aid to explain to people what happens inside the bowel, how changes can happen".

"And why sometimes those changes can cause the symptoms of bowel cancer and at what point people should be getting checked out," she explained.

"It breaks down the barriers. If we can get people giggling about something, it gets people talking about it."

About 17,700 people died from bowel cancer in 2022 to 2024, according to Cancer Research UK.

The charity added that 54% of cases of bowel cancer in the UK were preventable.

According to Bowel Cancer UK the key symptoms of the condition include:

• Bleeding from your bottom
• Blood in your poo
• A change in your pooing habits. You might be going more or less often, or have diarrhoea or constipation that might come and go
• Losing weight but you are not sure why
• Feeling very tired all the time but you are not sure why
• A pain or lump in your tummy

The NHS offers bowel cancer screening to people aged 50 to 74 every two years.

More than nine in 10 people survive bowel cancer when diagnosed at the earliest stage.

"We need to get people to talk more about the embarrassing stuff, people don't like to talk about bowels, we don't like to talk about poo, but that's exactly what we need people to start doing, to get the confidence to go and see their doctor," Whiteley added.

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