Bowel Cancer

Have you seen a poster or pamphlet at your doctor’s office that shows a smiling Merv Hughes clutching a bowel cancer test kit that says “It’s Time to Give Two Sh!ts About Bowel Cancer”?

We thought this advertising campaign was a catchy way of promoting the message about bowel cancer testing and thought we’d find out more about it.

Turns out that the campaign is the brainchild of the Federal Department of Health and the Jodi Lee Foundation. We hadn’t heard of the Jodi Lee Foundation, so we did some research. Jodi, her husband Nick, and their young two children were living in Vietnam in 2008 where Nick was working.

Nick was away when Jodi rang complaining of constipation, abdominal pain and some bloating. Her doctor quickly recognised an obstruction in her bowel and ordered scans. Jodi had cancer and the tumour had all but blocked her bowel. She was only 39 years old.

After emergency surgery to remove the cancer Jodi and Nick received the worst news possible – the cancer had spread to Jodi’s lymph and liver. At best, she only had two years to live.

Jodi passed away on 16 January 2010, a few days before her 41st birthday.

Before Jodi’s diagnosis she was fit and healthy. She had no family history and no symptoms whatsoever, which is typical of bowel cancer.

The saddest part of Jodi’s story is that it could have had a different ending if her bowel cancer had been detected early, and with that simple fact as the driving force, the Jodi Lee Foundation was established in 2010.

If you are aged between 50 and 74 years, you will receive a free bowel screening test in the mail thanks to the Federal Government’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. However, if you are younger than this, then you can purchase a bowel cancer screening test from your local pharmacy or online for $42. A simple bowel cancer testing kit saves lives: Bowel Screening - Jodi Lee Foundation | Preventing Bowel Cancer

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