In Northern Ireland over 1,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer and over 400 people die from the disease each year, but if detected at a very early stage treatment for the cancer is 90% successful.  Therefore the Public Health Agency (PHA) urged people to take the bowel cancer screening test by hosting a stand at the Balmoral Show, which ran 16-18 May 2012). The purpose of the stand was to increase awareness of the screening programme and to encourage uptake of those eligible.

All men and women aged 60-71 years are offered screening but only one in every two people invited take part, so the Balmoral Show was a great opportunity to encourage eligible people to participate in the screening programme

To mark Cancer Prevention Week (14–18 May 2012) the Public Health Agency (PHA) has highlighted that although around 9,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year in Northern Ireland, one third of these cancers are preventable and early detection helps successful treatment.

Palliative and end of life care is everybody’s business and to mark ‘Dying Matters Awareness Week’ (14-20 May 2012) the Public Health Agency (PHA) is urging everyone to take the opportunity to talk openly about dying, death and bereavement with those closest to them.

Research has found that many people have specific wishes about their end of life care or what they would like to happen after their death, but that a reluctance to discuss these issues makes it much less likely that these will be met – 70% of people would prefer to die at home but more than half currently die in hospital

In Northern Ireland over 1,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer and over 400 people die from the disease each year, but if detected at a very early stage treatment for the cancer is 90% successful. With this in mind, the Public Health Agency (PHA) is hosting a bowel cancer screening stand at this year’s Balmoral Show to increase awareness of the screening programme and to encourage uptake by those eligible.

All men and women aged 60-71 years are eligible for screening but only one in every two people invited take part, so the Balmoral Show is a great opportunity to encourage eligible people to complete the screening test

With European Championships kicking-off soon, the Public Health Agency (PHA) is calling on football fans and their children travelling to one of the host countries, Ukraine, to get protected against measles. The eastern European nation is currently experiencing an outbreak of the disease, which is very infectious.

Dr Richard Smithson, Consultant in Health Protection, PHA, said: “Anyone travelling to Ukraine in particular should make sure their children and themselves are fully immunised with two doses of MMR before they go.