A recent campaign to highlight the symptoms of bowel cancer and the importance of screening has resulted in an increase in referrals to a Norfolk hospital.
The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital would normally expect to see around 60 patients referred to its gastroenterology department each week.
At a meeting of the council of governors, chief executive Anna Dugdale said an awareness and screening campaign had led to more than 90 patients each week being referred in the last two weeks.
She said: 'Gastroenterology has seen significant pressure because of the bowel cancer screening.'
The Be Clear on Cancer campaign hopes to save lives by making people more aware about the possible signs of breast, lung and bowel cancer.
At the moment more than 1,500 people are diagnosed with one of these three cancers in Norfolk each year.
The campaign encourages people to visit their doctor if they think they may have cancer symptoms, which include: bowel cancer - blood in your faeces for three weeks; breast cancer - a lump or thickening in your breasts or arm pits; lung cancer - a cough that lasts for three weeks or more.
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