Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Liam Willis: Gut Cancer Foundation CEO pays tribute to Nigel Latta

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Liam Willis: Gut Cancer Foundation CEO pays tribute to Nigel Latta · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

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  Speaker 1: So Nigel latter has died at the age of fifty eight.
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  Speaker 1: He was an author, a psychologist, a broadcaster. People loved him.
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  Speaker 1: He was interparenting and healthy eating. Also became a campaigner
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  Speaker 1: for the Gut Cancer Foundation. The foundation's chief executive Liam
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  Speaker 1: Walls willis rather is with me now, Liam, Good morning,
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  Speaker 1: Good morning Miner. Very sad lost. There will be a
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  Speaker 1: lot of people aren't listening to this show who know
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  Speaker 1: Nigel well, who've heard him on the radio, on the
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  Speaker 1: seen him on the TV over the years. Very sad day.
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  Speaker 2: It's a really sub d ryne yeah, and look of
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  Speaker 2: first and foremost star Hotscot to Nigel's family, to Nutley's
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  Speaker 2: wife and his children who are obviously hit hardest by
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  Speaker 2: this loss. But Nigel was a huge character for New
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  Speaker 2: Zealand and I think the whole country good morning is
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  Speaker 2: lost to him.
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  Speaker 1: What drove him to be He was very passionate and
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  Speaker 1: he was very determined. What was behind that.
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  Speaker 2: I think Nigel had an incredible positivity to every thing
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  Speaker 2: that he did and he really brought that to his
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  Speaker 2: challenge that he faces his face with his stomach cancer
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  Speaker 2: diagnosis as well, and he wanted to use the challenge
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  Speaker 2: that he faced to make sure that he could help
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  Speaker 2: up us. I think that's what really drove him in
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  Speaker 2: this last year after his diagnosis particular, and he was
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  Speaker 2: really really keen to ensure that we could raise the
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  Speaker 2: profile of stomach cancer and make sure that people were
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  Speaker 2: aware of those symptoms and risk factors and make sure
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  Speaker 2: that people were giving access to the treatment that they
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  Speaker 2: needed as well. So I think that's what really drove him.
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  Speaker 1: The GAT Cancer Foundation, what exactly do you do?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, So at the Gut Cancer Foundation, we support patients,
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  Speaker 2: we fund research, we raise awareness into cancers of the
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  Speaker 2: digestive system. So that includes stomach cancer, which was what
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  Speaker 2: Nigel was diagnosed with, but also pancreas cancer, liver cancer,
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  Speaker 2: bowel cancer, a sophageal cancers well, so where it's about
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  Speaker 2: six thousand patients and so every year that are diagnosed
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  Speaker 2: with one of these cancers, and unfortunately, for particularly for
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  Speaker 2: cancers of the other digestive system, that the outlook and
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  Speaker 2: the prognosis is really poor. So it's really important that
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  Speaker 2: we play a role as a voice for that community
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  Speaker 2: and advocate. But it's also incredibly important when somebody is
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  Speaker 2: such profile as Nigel is so open about his journey
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  Speaker 2: as well, because it really does help us to bring
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  Speaker 2: that awareness and profile to these cancers that often aren't
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  Speaker 2: talked about.
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  Speaker 1: Are these cancers preventable? What should we you know, what
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  Speaker 1: if there's one thing we can take away today that
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  Speaker 1: we should be doing that we weren't doing yesterday.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, I mean a lot of these cancers can
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  Speaker 2: be preventable. That there are some lifestyle factors that go
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  Speaker 2: into the these cancers. But I think what's really really
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  Speaker 2: important is to understand your body and to know what's
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  Speaker 2: You understand your body and you know when things aren't
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  Speaker 2: quite right. So for example, with stomach cancer, if you
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  Speaker 2: get full after reaching, if you're unexpected weight loss, if
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  Speaker 2: you've got an naisier or bloating in your stomach, that's unusual.
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  Speaker 2: What's really important is we listen to our bodies and
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  Speaker 2: we don't get it checked out. Because what we know
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  Speaker 2: above anything is early detection is key. And with a
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  Speaker 2: lot of these cancers, the reason that the prognosis is
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  Speaker 2: so poor is because the detector is so late. So
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  Speaker 2: the earlier we can get these cancers detected, and that
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  Speaker 2: means getting the symptoms checked out at your GP and
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  Speaker 2: getting those tests that's needed, then the better the chances
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  Speaker 2: that we can treat the cancer.
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  Speaker 1: Liam, appreciate your time this morning, Thanks for being with me.
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  Speaker 1: That is Liam Willis, who's the chief excultive of the
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  Speaker 1: GAT Cancer Foundation. For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge,
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