A Cumbernauld man who binned his bowel cancer screening kit and was later diagnosed with the disease is raising awareness for early detection.

Craig Allen was diagnosed with bowel cancer two years after discarding his first screening kit.

He is now volunteering with Bowel Cancer UK to stress the importance of screening at their Glasgow roadshow, which will be touring the city from November 19 to 21 at The Forge Shopping Centre, Glasgow Central, and St Enoch Shopping Centre.

Mr Allen said: "I’m ashamed to say that I binned it.

“I didn’t have any symptoms of bowel cancer and I thought that because I was quite fit, I didn’t have to worry about cancer.”

He was diagnosed with stage 2/3 bowel cancer (Image: Bowel Cancer UK) Two years after ignoring his first kit, he received another screening test which his family encouraged him to complete.

After completing it, he was referred for a colonoscopy as the screening test had identified blood in his poo.

He was diagnosed with stage 2/3 bowel cancer.

Mr Allen said the news “left me numb, but luckily, I had family with me.”

His treatment process, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery to remove a section of his bowel, was a challenging experience.

He said: "For the most part, my confidence was shattered."

The 63-year-old is now joining forces with Bowel Cancer UK to stress the importance of screening at their Glasgow roadshow (Image: Bowel Cancer UK) However, after making a full recovery, he regained his confidence by volunteering.

He said: "I wondered what I could do to help myself.

"So, I decided to sign up to volunteer for Bowel Cancer UK.

"I felt, due to my own good fortune, I’d like to give something back.”

He now gives awareness talks about the importance of participating in bowel screening tests.

He said: “I tell people that if you’ve been sent a bowel screening test in the post, don’t delay completing it.

“I’m a classic example of the benefits as I didn’t have any symptoms, so doing that second screening test may have saved my life.

“This can happen to anyone, so my advice is: don’t bury your head in the sand. The sooner you’re diagnosed, the quicker treatment can start.”

The roadshow will be a platform for people to ask questions or voice concerns about bowel cancer.

Genevieve Edwards, chief executive at Bowel Cancer UK, said: "We’re so grateful to Craig for teaming up with us to help raise awareness of bowel cancer and just how important it is to take part in screening."