THE first clinic in the country dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of bowel cancer will be up and running at Airedale Hospital, Steeton, by Tuesday.

The Clear Cancer Campaign, launched in April by Skipton Rotary Club, has raised enough money to fund the clinic that could save up to 50 lives in Craven every year.

Statistics have shown that nationally 30,000 cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed each year and 18,000 of these people die.

However, up until now there has never been a clinic dedicated to the disease which is curable if diagnosed early enough.

Airedale's director of surgery Raja Kapadia said that essentially the Airedale clinic missed out the middleman. He found that often people were embarrassed to speak to their GP and would ignore their symptoms for up to a year. He thinks it would be less frightening to make an appointment at a clinic designed specifically to deal with the problems.

"What we are doing is running a clinic where patients refer themselves if they have rectal bleeding," said Mr Kapadia.

Anyone who phones for an appointment will be sent some preparation for the bowel, before the visit and then will be examined and asked for a medical history.

In just one visit the problem should be diagnosed and a course of treatment given.

"It is a potentially curable disease but only if you catch it early enough," said Mr Kapadia."Visiting a consultant is nothing to be frightened of. It is far better to be treated, these things do not go away."

The campaign for the clinic and improved awareness of the disease was spearheaded by Brian Ludlam, chairman of Ebor Fabrics, Embsay, who contracted colorectal cancer three years ago.

Thanks to early diagnosis, he underwent a successful operation, and although the cancer returned two years later, he had another operation and has made a full recovery.

Mr Ludlam decided to promote the importance of early diagnosis and contacted the Skipton Rotary Club to help sponsor the campaign.

Originally the idea was to raise £100,000 to establish a national screening programme, but when the Government put the lid on that scheme the group decided to set up the first ever bowel cancer clinic.

In just over six months, £25,000 has been raised with many more fundraising events planned.

Mr Ludlam said: "I am delighted at the enthusiasm that it has generated. Even people we have never heard of before are organising small events.

"Mr Kapadia has done a tremendous amount. He has had meetings with all the GPs in the Craven area, and generated support from the doctors. He is even planning to meet with all the pharmacists to generate their interest," said Mr Ludlam.

The clinic will be open every week on a Tuesday evening until the level of demand is determined. If it turned out that the day was not convenient or it needed to be open more or less frequently the situation would be reviewed in the future.

Anybody wanting more information or to book an appointment should call 01535 292342.

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