WOMAN TELLS OF 9-HOUR SURGERY AGONY

LOWER THE AGE FOR BOWEL CANCER TEST

- BY SALLY HIND

A CAMPAIGNING mum battling bowel cancer has told how she “died” during an op and is now backing a bid to see the screening age lowered.

Elaine Cunningham, of Glasgow, was 37 when she had surgery to remove a tumour just a few months after she first experienced symptoms of the disease.

She is now backing a personal bid for the bowel cancer screening age to be lowered to 30 from 50.

Elaine, from Dennistoun, said what should have been a two-hour ordeal as surgeons battled to save her.

She is one of thousands of people who have now signed a petition calling for earlier routine screening.

The 49-year-old said: “So many people under 50 are getting bowel cancer now. Yes, the advancement in treatment is amazing, but there are also a lot of people who just aren't getting the care they need in time.

“There had been tiny traces of blood in my stools but it was nothing to make me worried at the time.