A BOWEL cancer patient from East Lancashire is asking people to ignore embarrassment and make sure they 'Don't rush to flush'.

Residents are being asked to look out for symptoms such as diarrhoea, constipation and blood when they go to the toilet as part of NHS East Lancashire’s bowel cancer awareness campaign.

And Lynn Shepherd, a former missionary from Great Harwood, has warned that ignoring bowel cancer through awkwardness or denial could be fatal.

Lynn, 57, of Glebe Street, had suffered the heartache of losing her father Jim to bowel cancer and then found herself fighting her own battle with the disease.

She has made it her mission to make as many people as possible aware of the signs and symptoms of the condition, as well as its devastating impact, as a volunteer for the primary care trust's Communities against Cancer team.

Lynn said: “I think my father knew he had cancer, but he chose to ignore it. He had suffered with polyps, which cause bleeding from the backside, for years. He had to have them removed.”

In 2001, a doctor visiting Lynn's mother persuaded Jim to go into hospital. He died within two months. Lynn was working with a Baptist mission in Peru at the time. She said: “It was hard to lose my father, especially as I was thousands of miles away. But there was nothing I could do.

“Thankfully I have nine brothers and sisters and I know they did all they could at the time.”

While dealing with her grief, Lynn started showing symptoms of bowel cancer herself.

Lynn saw a specialist in May 2006, who confirmed the disease.

She underwent rigorous chemotherapy, which was successful. But she is still not in the clear, and her progress is monitored annually.

She said: “There are two sides to my story. As a bowel cancer survivor, you feel guilty, thinking ‘why should I survive, when so many others have died?'

“But seeing my father pass away makes me realise that choosing between accepting and ignoring bowel cancer symptoms really is the difference between life and death. More people need to know this.”