One of NHS Lanarkshire’s public health consultants is set for an adventurous Himalayan trekking challenge to help Scots beat bowel cancer.
Celia Briffa-Watt, NHS Scotland’s National Programme Board Chair for Bowel Screening, is putting aside her concerns about tough camping conditions and gruelling altitude to raise money for charity and promote awareness of bowel cancer testing and the symptoms of the condition.
Celia is trekking in the Himalayas in India for the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer UK, set up by high-profile bowel cancer campaigner, the late Dame Deborah James.
April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, so Celia is throwing a spotlight on the need to improve screening uptake across Scotland – especially in her own patch.
Lanarkshire comes second-last among Scotland’s health boards for use of bowel screening kits, particularly worrying as locals who do take the test have the nation’s highest positivity rate. The good news is that screening is the best way to detect bowel cancer early – when treatments are more successful.
Mum-of-two Celia, 45, from Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, said: “I won’t pretend I haven’t had some doubts about taking on this Himalayan challenge as we’ll be camping in tough conditions with no facilities.
“It will be challenging terrain across the five-day hike and sleeping in sub-zero temperatures might be hard. I’ll certainly miss my family a lot. I’m just relieved that the Himalayan bears will be hibernating when I’m there.
“I’ll be trekking in mountains of up to 3,000 metres and I don’t know how I’ll cope with the altitude in that part of the world.”
The Bowelbabe Fund Himalayan Trek India is run by Charity Challenge and involves hiking among rarely-explored mountain terrain.
Celia knows she needs to get fitter in preparation, admitting she’s not a hill walker. She’s planning to do the “Couch to 5K” running challenge for the second time as well as regular hikes up some of Scotland’s peaks such as Tinto Hill, near her home, Conic Hill at Balmaha, and the Cobbler and Ben Lomond, close to where she grew up.
Husband Joe and their two young daughters will be joining her as she tackles a number of Munros.
Celia explained: “It’s great to do something different to put the focus on bowel cancer. No one could be more inspirational than Dame Deborah James and it’s good to know that whatever I raise for her fund through sponsorship and fundraising activities will go direct to studies into bowel cancer by Cancer Research UK.
“Bowel screening is offered to men and women aged 50 to 74 across Scotland every two years. Early detection improves treatment options and outcomes for patients. So it’s never been more important to do your test when it’s posted to you, or ask for a test if you didn’t do the last one.
“We continue to see fewer men than women taking the test. Nationally, uptake for screening has fallen slightly and it’s the same for Lanarkshire.
“As Deborah James’s experience shows, people who are too young for screening should also be vigilant about the symptoms of bowel cancer, which include blood in your poo, changes in your bowel habits and tummy pain.”
Celia’s trekking challenge takes place in March next year (2026) and she’s set up a JustGiving page for donations – https://www.justgiving.com/page/celia-briffa-watt-1.
For full information on the Scottish bowel screening programme – and how to order a kit if you didn’t use your last one – visit the bowel screening section of the NHS Inform website.
