How your favourite PINT could uncover hidden bowel cancer – and when to see your doctor

BRITS will be encouraged to check whether they are at risk of developing bowel cancer while enjoying a pint in a pub, as part of a targeted awareness campaign. Beer mats highlighting the colours of various pints including an IPA and Guinness and what your toilet habits could mean for your bowel health, have been distributed across pubs owned by the Big Smoke Brew Company. The beer mats are available at Big Smoke Brew Company pubs Every year, 44,000 Britons are told they have bowel cancer Credit: Alamy Thousands of free at-home bowel health tests will also be available in the same pubs in the south east of England and London, before the scheme is rolled out across the UK later this year. Every year, 44,000 Britons are told they have bowel cancer. Sign up for the Health newsletter Thank you! It is the country’s fourth most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death. While overall rates are stable, or have declined slightly in older age groups, cases among younger adults, or under-50s, are rising. READ MORE ON BOWEL CANCER Over the last 30 years, young diagnoses of the disease have shot up by 80 per cent across the globe. Under the new campaign, beer mats, dubbed the “Pint Pootorial”, compares varying stool colours with Britons favourite pints. While Ale, typically a brown colour, suggests that a stool the same colour indicates a healthy bowel, a stool that is lighter in colour and yellow, similar to an IPA, is worth getting checked. Doctors say that lighter, yellow coloured stool could be a result of excess fat or caused by issues such as coeliac disease or Crohn’s disease. Most read in Health To be safe a stool test can help rule out potential bowel cancer. Lager or orange coloured stools, meanwhile, may also be an early sign of potential bowel cancer. It can also be caused by a condition called bile acid diarrhoea, where bile stays in the stool without being reabsorbed. Stools the colour of stout, dark red or black, should be checked by health professionals as soon as possible. This colouring can be caused by food items such as beetroot or items strong in iron, but it could signal bleeding in the large bowel. Pubs will also have free at-home bowel tests from Newfoundland Diagnostics, for pub-goers to take. Geordie Shore and Ex on the Beach star Zahida Allen has also backed the campaign The test, which is already available for £9.99 in pharmacies including Sainsbury’s and Well, is a FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) test. It analyses a poo sample to detect hidden blood, which can be an early sign of bowel cancer or other conditions such as polyps. FIT tests are sent free to all 50 to 74-year-olds in England on the NHS to try to catch tumours before symptoms start. Michael Hodnett, co-founder of Newfoundland Diagnostics, said: “Poo isn’t exactly the first thing people expect to be discussing when they go to the pub, but that’s what makes this such a good opportunity to get people talking about something that’s genuinely important. “We’ve taken something people know very well – the colour of their pint – and used it as a way to help them think about something they probably pay much less attention to. “If someone looks at one of these mats and thinks, ‘Actually, I don’t know what’s normal for me,’ that’s a really valuable conversation to have.” To help raise awareness, Geordie Shore and Ex on the Beach star Zahida Allen has also backed the campaign after recently admitting to tragically losing her father to undiagnosed bowel cancer after the lack of testing he received. She said: “Losing my dad to bowel cancer is something I will always carry with me, and one of the hardest things is knowing that, had I understood the signs and known more things might have been different. “I wish I’d been told more about bowel cancer and what to look out for, because early testing really does make a difference. “I’m certain if he’d tested earlier my Dad would still be with us. “I want to help make talking about bowel health and testing feel less awkward and more normal, so people feel informed enough to recognise the signs and take action. “If this campaign encourages even one person to get checked earlier and potentially saves a life then we have helped.” Where can you find the beer mats and FIT tests? Beer mats and free tests can be found in 10 of Big Smoke Brew Company's pubs across the capital and south east of England. The scheme will be rolled out across the UK later this year. Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen, London Gatwick South Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen, Luton Airport The Globe, Heathrow Terminal 5 The Oceanic, Heathrow Terminal 3 The Antelope, Surbiton The Flintgate, Weybridge The Albion, Kingston The Poyntz Arms, East Molesey The Red Lion, Thames Ditton The Bricklayer’s Arms, Hersham FIT tests are sent free to all 50 to 74-year-olds in England on the NHS to try to catch tumours before symptoms start Credit: Bowel Cancer UK Bowel cancer screening was introduced on the NHS in England in 2006. The age of screening was reduced from 60 years old to 50 after The Sun’s No Time To Lose campaign, led by Dame Deborah James. The Sun Columnist was diagnosed in 2016 at the age of just 35, after initially being told her symptoms were likely due to IBS or stress. The podcaster and campaigner, who used her social media profile ‘Bowel Babe’ to spread awareness of the disease, died aged just 40, in 2022. Symptoms of bowel cancer often include changes in bowel movements such as consistent and new diarrhoea or constipation, needing or feeling the need to poo more or less frequently and blood in the stool. Stomach pain, a lump in the stomach, bloating, unexpected weight-loss and fatigue are among other signs. Comment now