The year has come for our favourite Geordie, John, to turn 80. As a birthday wish, John is hoping that people will help him in supporting and raising funds for a local charity very near to his and his family's heart, G.U.T.S, which is based at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford.

In case you haven’t heard of GUTS it stands for Guildford Undetected Tumour Screening. The aim of the charity is to improve the survival of people with bowel cancer in the South East of England by early detection and to raise awareness of the disease. 

It is a sad fact that 1 in 35 people will develop bowel cancer in their lifetime and it is the second leading cause of cancer deaths. Regular bowel cancer screening has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from bowel cancer by 16% and if it is detected at the earliest stage, there is over a 90% chance of survival. These statistics make G.U.T.S' work vitally important and, as a registered charity, they rely on donations alone to continue.

This year, John was diagnosed with colo-rectal cancer. Fortunately, as a result of brilliant work by the excellent team at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, he went through surgery and was told that the tumour was completely removed with no radiotherapy needed. It is because of this that we have learnt first hand that this kind of screening can have fantastic results and save our loved ones if only it is used as early as possible.

Donating through Just Giving is simple, fast and completely secure. Don't forget to add Gift Aid - if you're a UK taxpayer, ticking the Gift Aid box will increase your donation by at least 25% at no extra cost to you!