Hansard

I thank Edward Mountain for bringing the debate to the chamber. Bowel cancer is not a topic that we normally hear being freely discussed, so I thank him not only for bringing it to the chamber for debate but for being a man who is not afraid to speak about his health, and for being someone who was not afraid to speak out during his recovery and talk about his personal experience. I know that he gave folk courage and support by doing so. I also know that it is not easy to talk about things that have had a direct impact on you, especially when you are, as he is, a private person who is not in the habit of discussing publicly your private affairs.

Through you, Deputy Presiding Officer, I take the opportunity to say to Edward Mountain, following our conversation yesterday morning, that talking about this does not make him vulnerable; it makes him brave, in my eyes. As I know, some folk are too feart to poop on a stick; they just want to bury their heads in the sand, and they would rather not know. However, he went for the test and then went viral with his diagnosis and treatment, and he should be proud of himself for that.

As a woman of a certain age who gets the letters from NHS Scotland that ask people to get tested or checked for various things such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, smears, mammograms and bowel cancer, I can honestly say that jabbing your jobbie wi a stick is a dawdle. You do not have to put it in a Tiffany box, like Sharon Osbourne used to do before sending it to folk she didna like—you just stick it in the return envelope and post it back to the NHS. It is as simple as that.

In his motion, Edward Mountain

“congratulates the Scottish Government in taking the lead in bowel cancer screening”

and recognises

“that Scotland has the most sensitive level of screening in the whole of the UK”.

I echo that sentiment and add my congratulations.

However, as good as that news is, we as the public, and as individuals, have a part to play, as well. We need to take control of our own health—nobody else is going to do it for us. I say that because, according to the Public Health Scotland statistics report that was published in March this year, for the two-year period up to April 2024, more than 1.9 million folk were invited to complete a home bowel screening test. Two thirds of those folk successfully returned their kit—a 66 per cent uptake. The report notes that

“Uptake was higher in females ... than males”.

However, although an overall uptake of 66 per cent sounds like good news, that still leaves a third—approximately 600,000 people—who did not return their test. We, as individuals and as a Parliament, can and must do better in getting the message out about how important that wee test is.

We must remember that bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in Scotland. Scotland has the highest rate of bowel cancer diagnosis in the UK. However, early diagnosis is key, with nine out of 10 people surviving if bowel cancer is found early. Men are more likely to have a positive screening result than women, yet fewer men return their stick.

If I can get one message out tonight, it would be this: please do the test—if not for yourself, for your family. You do not even have to leave the comfort of your own home. As I said, if you are diagnosed early, you have a 90 per cent chance of survival: nine out of 10 folk survive. How would you feel if a family member did not do the test because they were too feart and then left it too late? Do not be that family member—go jab your jobbie and stick it in the post.