Abbott Group Chairman Graham Heenan presents the sponsorship cheque to the Bowel & Liver Trust’s General Manager Margaret Fitzgerald
The Abbott Group are very proud to sponsor the Bowel & Liver Trust once again for 2016.
Gut health isn’t a topic people like to talk about, but it is a silent killer that is always present in our community. Since the Abbott Group began our sponsorship of the Bowel & Liver Trust, we have worked hard to raise awareness of this issue amongst our team and wider community.
As a result, a number of our contacts have chosen to undergo a colonoscopy for peace of mind. And on several occasions, problems were found at an early enough stage that they could be treated. We are thankful that our sponsorship of the Bowel & Liver Trust has had a direct effect on the health of those around us.
New Zealand’s rate of bowel cancer is the second highest in the world, and thousands of other New Zealanders are affected by diseases such as Crohns Disease, liver failure, Coeliac Disease, or cancers of the oesophagus or pancreas.
We want to encourage all of our clients to be aware of the risks, signs and symptoms of bowel problems. Problems of the bowel are common and most of the time these symptoms do not turn out to be bowel cancer.
However, if you have any of the following signs and symptoms that persist for more than a couple of weeks, please talk to your doctor:
- Bleeding from your bottom or blood in your poo
- A change in bowel habit lasting three weeks or more
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason
- A pain or lump in your tummy
For more information, check out www.bowelandliver.org.nz
Since 1993, the Bowel & Liver Trust have helped improve the gastrointestinal health of New Zealanders by promoting research and education of liver and digestive disease disorders. They have raised over a million dollars for combating gut diseases including funding large research programmes, cutting-edge equipment, and grass-roots patient support groups.
