A CANCER patient is urging people to be aware of the signs and symptoms of the disease.

Ernie Milner, from Hove, is backing a campaign by Macmillan Cancer Support as part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month.

The 70-year-old was diagnosed with the condition in 2011 and ended up having an emergency operation on Christmas Eve.

He said: “Like many people, my awareness of bowel cancer and its symptoms was very low and since I was generally a fit and healthy person I ignored the pain I had.

“I was, however, scheduled for routine screening which I took part in and found that I had advanced bowel cancer.”

Mr Milner’s diagnosis came close to Christmas and despite his treatment being planned, the pain was so bad he was operated on as an emergency and woke up in hospital on Christmas Day.

He said: “Without the screening programme I would have carried on ignoring the symptoms and left things even longer. As well as encouraging people to visit their doctor with any concerns, I urge everyone to ensure that they take part in screening programmes.”

Macmillan senior information development nurse Sue Green said: “Knowing what changes to look for and when to see your doctor could make a real difference.

“Don’t be scared if you have symptoms. Get them checked.

“Most people with symptoms do not have bowel cancer – they can be caused by other things.

“But don’t try to diagnose yourself... see your doctor.

“If you do have cancer, the sooner it’s found the more likely it is to be successfully treated.”

Bowel cancer is the UK’s fourth most common cancer and mostly affects people over the age of 50.

Symptoms include blood in stools or bowel motions for more than three weeks, a pain or lump in the stomach, losing weight for no obvious reason and feeling more tired than usual for some time.

Mr Milner is now recovering from treatment for a new primary lung cancer.

A tumour was discovered during a routine scan as part of his cancer follow up treatment.

He said: “Even with my second cancer I feel lucky.

“This was only picked up because of my follow up treatment plan and is another example of how important it is to attend follow ups and routine screening.”

Macmillan runs the Horizon Centre in Brighton which provides a wide range of support.