A Crusader Against Cancer

For years she was the lead presenter on one of TV’s most popular shows and the champion of disgruntled consumers everywhere but when Lynn Faulds Wood was diagnosed with advanced cancer, her life changed forever. Recently she took time out to tell George R Vaughan why surviving the experience made her determined to put her celebrity status to good use and help others who were similarly affected.

It’s a sad fact of life that cancer affects 1 in 3 of the population in the UK and with so many different strains of the disease to be aware of, even a sensible diet and a healthy lifestyle cannot guarantee you won’t be one of those stricken down by one form or another.

It is also a little known fact that after lung cancer, bowel cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the UK , claiming 16,000 lives a year.

Celebrated TV presenter and former Watchdog host, Lynn Faulds Wood is the face and drive behind Lynn’s Bowel Cancer Campaign, a charity that seeks to push this treatable cancer to the fore. A sufferer herself, it was her successful fight with the disease that prompted Lynn to make the general public more aware.

“When I found out I had bowel cancer it came as quite a shock. The fact that it was also at an advanced stage made me very aware of my own mortality but with a husband and at that time a very young son, I had more than enough reasons to put up a fight.

“My symptoms were subtle – a little rectal bleeding which came and went - and to be honest, before the diagnosis I had never even heard of this type of cancer. What I did know was that in those days, most people who developed bowel cancer died and because of the advanced stage I was at my chances of survival were slim – on paper then about 34%.”

Former football star and England Captain Bobby Moore was diagnosed with bowel cancer around the same time and Lynn collaborated with his wife Stephanie on the show Bobby Moore and Me with the hope of increasing public understanding of the disease. It got 6.5 million viewers showing that people really want to know about this common cancer

“I felt determined to bring the subject into the living rooms of people all over the country. After all, if I as a journalist hadn’t heard of this form of cancer before, who else might be “in the dark” about it?”

“Sadly, Bobby was not as fortunate as me and eventually lost his battle. I made a full recovery and this gave me an even greater desire to spread the word. Bowel cancer is one of the most treatable conditions (if diagnosed early) and if more people know what to look for then they can recover completely.

“I decided to give up most of my TV work and concentrate on saving lives from bowel cancer. These days I spend most of my time working unpaid for the charity. Survival rates have improved dramatically over recent years but there is still so much to be done”.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Lynn is married to long-term TV presenter John Stapleton with whom she has a son, Nick, who was just 3 years of age at the time of her diagnosis. She is most famous for hosting Watchdog (which she fronted with her husband) but she has also worked with the BBC and also GMTV, where from 2003 she has been the consumer reporter.

“My work in the public eye has really helped me bring this disease to people’s attention and there is no question that it would all have been a lot harder had I not been in another, perhaps more low-key profession”.

One of the big hurdles that Lynn and others involved with her charity face is the stigma connected to this kind of cancer. A recent survey showed that around 84% of people would rather ignore the symptoms than talk to their doctor about them.

“As a nation the British are still quite an uptight bunch and it is hard for us to talk about things like this openly. But when your very life could be at stake, it is pointless to shoulder any inhibitions.

“This April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and we launched Dress Spotty Day three years ago to raise awareness of our all too common cancer and the response has been fantastic.

“The idea behind it is that we all see spots as the ideal answer so: spot the symptoms, spot if it’s in your family and then spot if screening has started in your area.

“One visit could help save someone’s life, possibly even your own. Taking five minutes out now could be the difference between seeing your grandchildren grow up or never even getting the chance to know who they are.”

George R Vaughan