ScS sofas at stadium for cancer campaign on ITV’s Lorraine

Sunderland-based sofa and carpet retailer ScS has been working with ITV’s Lorraine to raise awareness of bowel cancer and its symptoms, which if caught early can often be cured.

Bowel cancer survivor, Deborah James, presented part of the ITV show live from an ScS sofa at Sunderland AFC’s ground this morning, to talk about issues surrounding this type of cancer, urging people to check for symptoms and visit a doctor if they are worried.

The Stadium of Light was chosen as it holds 49,000 seats, a number close to the 42,000 diagnosed with the disease each year in the UK. 

It took place as new research came to light, revealing that over half of Brits are unable to identify even the most prominent symptoms of bowel cancer.

When asked to select from a list of symptoms, a third didn’t recognise having blood in their stool as a warning sign, almost half failed to realise abdominal pain as an indicator of the disease, and over half didn’t flag changes in bowel habits such as looser stool as a possible symptom.   

The project, run throughout Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, is designed to highlight the fact that bowel cancer is often treatable if symptoms are caught early enough. 

Nearly everyone survives the disease if diagnosed early, therefore it is crucial that people are aware of the symptoms to look out for. 

To highlight the campaign, ScS has added stickers to its fleet of delivery vans, displayed informational signs in stores and will feature the campaign in TV adverts, from April 22 to May 4. 

ScS is also donating £24,901 to Bowel Cancer UK, which is equivalent to the number of miles around the earth, as staff are attempting to complete this distance in a sponsored walk. 

Monica Jordan, a customer service administrator at ScS, shares her family’s experience with bowel cancer: “Both my nana and my mum sadly passed away from bowel cancer after being diagnosed too late. If we had known earlier things may have been different, and that’s incredibly frustrating to know.

“It’s so important for people to know the symptoms and everything they can do to help prevent it, so they can find it early and treat it before it’s too late.”  

Genevieve Edwards, chief executive at Bowel Cancer UK, said: “Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer, but it’s treatable and curable, especially when diagnosed and treated early, so it’s essential people know the symptoms to look out for. Having a focus on the disease on ITV’s Lorraine will hopefully go a long way to helping raise awareness of the signs and saving lives.

“We are also thrilled to have the support of ScS, who is generously fundraising for our charity, and their support will help with our lifesaving research and vital bowel cancer services. We wish them all the best for their ambitious round the Earth challenge.” 

Steve Carson, CEO of ScS, said: “We’re delighted to be able to support Bowel Cancer UK and ITV’s Lorraine campaign to help raise awareness for such an important cause. The fact that bowel cancer is so often treatable means that awareness can quite literally be the difference between life and death.  

“We wanted to pay respect to those who lose their lives to bowel cancer each year, by showing empty seats in the stadium that is so close to our home in Sunderland.  

“At ScS, we are helping to fundraise for the charity by attempting to walk the equivalent of the entire circumference of the Earth.

“It’s going to be a massive team effort as we need to cover over 24,000 miles, but the money will make a real difference, so that will spur us on.” 

For more information about ScS’ research and how to identify the symptoms of bowel cancer, visit scs.co.uk/lifestyle/how-to-identify-bowel-cancer