0:00:10 > 0:00:13It's said a problem aired is a problem shared.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14It's good to talk.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20That support can make our problems seem less daunting, more manageable.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22It makes life easier.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27But what if we're too concerned about what other people might think?
0:00:27 > 0:00:28What then?
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Sadly, that can be the case when it comes to talking about
0:00:32 > 0:00:36our bowel health. Such conditions can be life-threatening
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and the charity Bowel & Cancer Research is doing all that it can
0:00:39 > 0:00:41to one day make them a thing of the past.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48At times, my life is a bit on hold.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50Things are manageable but come a certain point, you know,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54you can't go out, you do have to stay home.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Tanya is 26 and from London.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00When she was 12, she was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome
0:01:00 > 0:01:04and suffered symptoms such as nausea and vomiting.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Since then, her condition has worsened
0:01:06 > 0:01:10and she was later diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15I'm tired all the time. You know, I can't eat anywhere.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19I'm forever carrying anti-sickness pills on me.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Due to the pain and unpredictability of her condition,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Tanya finds it difficult to make plans
0:01:25 > 0:01:27or even carry out simple tasks.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31When you have a flare-up, you can't leave your house
0:01:31 > 0:01:36because you would go to the toilet like 20 times a day - plus.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38I've always got this thing at the back of my head thinking,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41"Where's your nearest toilet?"
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Even taking my dog for a walk,
0:01:43 > 0:01:45I have to think first of all.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47It definitely is frustrating.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51There are days where I have to just, you know, cancel plans
0:01:51 > 0:01:54and not go out, basically,
0:01:54 > 0:01:56because I'm either being sick or I'm going to the toilet
0:01:56 > 0:01:59and you can't go out in that kind of state.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03But for many people, they don't really realise actually how much,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06you know, treatment I have to have to, you know, be well.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09Bowel conditions can cause misery
0:02:09 > 0:02:13and drastically reduce people's quality of life.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Inflammatory bowel disease alone affects 300,000 people
0:02:17 > 0:02:21and bowel cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed types in Britain.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25But it's this taboo around bowels and toileting that keeps them from
0:02:25 > 0:02:29being diagnosed early and, in some cases, can end up costing lives.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Andy is 31 and from Liverpool.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39He's always been a healthy and active man.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42But two years ago he started to experience symptoms which began
0:02:42 > 0:02:45to affect his day-to-day life.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49I started getting pains in my stomach and in my gut.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52They'd come and go. It wouldn't be constant and so I kind of
0:02:52 > 0:02:54wrote it off.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58It'll just be a passing thing, it was something I ate or just made
0:02:58 > 0:03:04up a lot of excuses to myself to not go to the doctor and get it seen to.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07After a further nine months of discomfort,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Andy was encouraged by his family to visit his GP.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14They did some blood tests which showed quite elevated
0:03:14 > 0:03:17levels of inflammatory markers in the blood
0:03:17 > 0:03:19and I went for a colonoscopy.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23They thought it might be inflammatory bowel disease
0:03:23 > 0:03:25that was causing these issues.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30I rang him up at tea-time and said, "Well, how did you get on?"
0:03:30 > 0:03:33And he said, "Mum, they've kept me in. They've found a tumour."
0:03:35 > 0:03:37So that was very hard.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43So it was a surprise to everyone when I was diagnosed
0:03:43 > 0:03:45with cancer at 30.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51They were clear that it was extremely unlikely that
0:03:51 > 0:03:54I would be cured of the disease.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57The best they could do was to try and buy me
0:03:57 > 0:03:58more time with chemotherapy.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03It was absolutely devastating.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06It's the worst moment of my life.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11And I remember saying to him, "This is all wrong.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14"You should be sitting here with me, not me sitting here with you."
0:04:16 > 0:04:18There were a few thoughts of,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21"Oh, I wish I'd gone to see the doctor earlier,
0:04:21 > 0:04:26"I wish I'd not ignored this symptom, I wish I'd done some things
0:04:26 > 0:04:29"differently," but, at the end of the day,
0:04:29 > 0:04:31you can't change what's happened.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34Bowel cancer can kill
0:04:34 > 0:04:37but it's also one of the most treatable cancers
0:04:37 > 0:04:39if caught early enough.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43All too often, however, people like Andy overlook its symptoms
0:04:43 > 0:04:45and then it can be too late.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48As a doctor, I can't stress how important it is to break
0:04:48 > 0:04:50these taboos,
0:04:50 > 0:04:54to get people talking and, most importantly, fund the vital
0:04:54 > 0:04:57research needed to one day eradicate these diseases.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01To bring that day closer,
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Bowel & Cancer Research funds pioneering studies around the UK.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09They support our next generation of scientists who are working to better
0:05:09 > 0:05:15diagnose and treat bowel cancer as well as other chronic diseases -
0:05:15 > 0:05:17to not only change lives but to save lives.
0:05:17 > 0:05:18Over the last 20 years,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21medical research has meant that more people than ever
0:05:21 > 0:05:25before survive bowel cancer and we are going in the right direction.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Over the next 20 years, we want to make even more progress
0:05:28 > 0:05:31so that we can work one day to a day where no-one will die of bowel
0:05:31 > 0:05:35cancer or have to live with a chronic bowel disease.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37The more we know, the more progress we can make,
0:05:37 > 0:05:42so it's absolutely vital that we continue to fund these programmes.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47And it's thanks to the tireless efforts of charities
0:05:47 > 0:05:51like Bowel & Cancer Research that Paul Reynolds has overcome what
0:05:51 > 0:05:54could have been a fatal illness.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59Back in 2007, I was in my 40s in the sort of prime of my life,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02having a fantastic time, and suddenly someone tells you
0:06:02 > 0:06:03you have cancer.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08I had radiotherapy and chemotherapy
0:06:08 > 0:06:10and actually it turned out that was really successful.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15If I had been diagnosed with bowel cancer 20 years earlier,
0:06:15 > 0:06:20when the surgical innovations weren't as advanced as they were
0:06:20 > 0:06:25when I was diagnosed, then my bowel cancer could've been fatal.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30I'm here today, nine years after being diagnosed, as a direct
0:06:30 > 0:06:36result of fantastic scientists doing ground-breaking research
0:06:36 > 0:06:40and generous people donating to fund that research.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44It's going to save lives and it's going to save a lot of lives
0:06:44 > 0:06:47and it's going to make a big difference.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Determined not to let her condition hold her back,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55- Tanya has incorporated it into her working life.- That looks good.
0:06:55 > 0:06:56Well, these have lentils in it
0:06:56 > 0:06:59and sometimes lentils for IBS isn't great.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Because of what I've been through, it's inspired me
0:07:01 > 0:07:05to help others that also live with chronic conditions.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07I help them manage their symptoms through diet.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10These are free from, you know, dairy,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12so this also would be a suitable option for you.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15When your symptoms are manageable, then you can live again,
0:07:15 > 0:07:17you have your life back.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22We have to live with the knowledge that we won't see him
0:07:22 > 0:07:26growing older and having children of his own, and that's...
0:07:26 > 0:07:30..the hardest thing that's imaginable for a mother and father.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34It doesn't have to be the same for everyone and
0:07:34 > 0:07:38eventually someone who is diagnosed at the stage I am
0:07:38 > 0:07:42may have better chances of being cured and that's why it's
0:07:42 > 0:07:47important that they continue to be funded to do the work that they do.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51For more than 25 years, research funded by the charity has been
0:07:51 > 0:07:54paving the way to better diagnosis and treatment.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Their aim is that one day people will no longer have to suffer
0:07:58 > 0:08:01the devastating effects of bowel cancer or bowel disease.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Because of their research
0:08:03 > 0:08:06we know much more now about our bowels than ever before -
0:08:06 > 0:08:09and the only way to keep making progress
0:08:09 > 0:08:11is for more medical research.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14We really need your help to fund this, so please,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16if you can, donate now.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21To give by phone, call...
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32Texts cost £10 plus your standard network message charge
0:08:32 > 0:08:36and the whole £10 goes to Bowel & Cancer Research.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40For full terms and conditions or to make a donation online, visit
0:08:40 > 0:08:45the Lifeline website at...
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Or if you'd like to post a donation,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50please make your cheque payable to Bowel & Cancer Research
0:08:50 > 0:08:54and send it to Freepost, BBC Lifeline Appeal,
0:08:54 > 0:08:58writing Bowel & Cancer Research on the back of the envelope.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59Thank you.