This has been six months in the making. Bought the truck (tick) Got the banners and name cards (tick). Got approval from Bowel cancer awareness australia (tick). Our intention is to travel to country towns around australia starting off from NSW after seeing bowel cancer awareness, in Sydney to pick up the DVDs etc that we will use in our unique real presentation of bowel cancer awareness, and talk Howard , as a bowel cancer survivor and me as the family member carer.
We are targeting out of town people (rural) as they seem to slip over the cliff, as far as awareness, and having information on this insididous disease , especially farmers , etc, statistics prove this. This is not good enough, so we want to go to as many towns as we can. Country halls, churches, mens sheds etc etc.
Its a known fact that like treats like, if one knows something about something, and has been through it, it is a lot easier for people to understand. We certainly want to demystify the whole "thing" about examinations, colonoscopies, etc, so that the embarressment is gone.
We will be selling bracelets, and keyrings (handmade) to help with our expenses. Basically we will just wing it, camp at gravel pits, free camps etc, Howard is still making a dog fence from screen doors, and we have to put the shower and toilet in the back of the truck which will tow the caravan.
Bowel cancer is the second biggest killer of cancers in australia, early detection and awareness is crucial, as 85% of cases detected in the early stages survive.
We are very lucky to have Dr Nic Luton from Princess alexander hospital here in Brisbane. He is breaking frontier new ground in techniques of bowel surgery, doctors from Israel and the UK come and train under him. He is over the moon that we are doing this, but I dont see it as like that, I just believe that the more people who are aware the better the chances of survival.
I have a lot of rellies 'out bush', and I know that a lot of health issues are ignored or put on the back burner, because they're so isolated from good medical support.
Knowing the bushies, I reckon Bowel Cancer in particular would be something they don't talk about, so to get them talking about it will be a great achievement on your part.
What a fantastic project to conceive and initiate and I can only admire all the planning that's gone into it. It's a great idea to target rural areas and populations as they seem to be at most risk across a range of preventable chronic diseases. I'm sure you will meet lots of interesting people and communities and that you will have an excellent time as you go around the country spreading the word.
