Decembeard is a campaign in which Bowel Cancer UK ask people to grow a beard during the month of December in order to raise money and awareness in order to help fund research into treatments for Bowel Cancer, as more than 16,000 people in the UK die from it each year.
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and around 42,000 people are diagnosed with it each year. It is also known as colorectal cancer and affects the large bowel, which is made up of the colon and rectum. 1 in 14 men are diagnosed will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime and 1 in 19 women the same.
Geoff Marchment, 38, a business development manager from Poppleton, took part in Decembeard in 2013 and 2015 after his friend James was diagnosed with bowel cancer.
James was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2013 after suffering from stomach cramps and being told it was IBS. Geoff described how James would have to “lie down on the ground after eating food in order to be comfortable and digest his food.”
Geoff and James met at the age of 13 and have been best friends since, James was even the best man at Geoff’s wedding. After suffering from the stomach pains for a while, James went back to the doctors for a colonoscopy and was scheduled in for an operation to remove the cancer a week later.
After having 90% of his lower intestine removed, James started chemotherapy to ensure the cancer didn’t spread or return, as even though the doctors were “reasonably sure they had removed the cancerous bowel” there is a risk it can still spread or return.
Geoff visited his friend in the hospital and it was then he decided he would take part in decembeard, so he could “help raise awareness for the victims and families of bowel cancer.” He said: “I would definitely recommend people take part in Decembeard, it is a charity very close to my heart.”
James is now back to normal, meaning he has no more chance of getting cancer than anyone else, and despite the risk of chemotherapy making it more difficult to have children, he has had a second child.
Although Geoff is not taking part this year, his young daughter doesn’t like a long scratchy beard and he explained he “likes to try and keep on the right side of her” it is an event that is easy to take part in, in order to raise some money for a good charity.
Whether you want to grow a beard or decorate the one you have for the month, there is more information available at https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/support-us/fundraise/decembeard/.
For information about bowel cancer including symptoms and treatments, visit https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/. It is possible to treat bowel cancer and many people survive when diagnosed at the earliest stage possible.