'Too scared to do anything' Chris Evans on bowel cancer scare after Deborah James' death

express.co.uk:

Chris Evans has opened up about a bowel cancer scare he experienced following the death of BBC podcast host Dame Deborah James.The radio star, 56, paid tribute to the mum-of-two following her heartbreaking death aged 40 from the disease, before revealing that he experienced a scare almost a decade ago.The flame-haired star spoke candidly about tragically losing family members to the disease while addressing his own experience.Chris said: "So because of my family history of bowel cancer, my dad died of bowel cancer and both his brothers did, both my uncles."So it got all of them, it wiped them out, so I'm very high risk."The father of five went on to relay an incident which led him to urgently seek medical advice.The radio host continued: "A few years ago I went to have my first colonoscopy following a toilet experience which literally took my breath away."So nothing had happened to me or, as far as I was concerned, to do with blood in my stools ever."He added: "And then one day I think it was eight or nine years ago now, I wrote about it in one of my books, I looked in the pan and it was like somebody had poured a tin of red paint in there."It was so weird, because I'd been told I was high risk and I was too scared to do anything about it"I don't know why, I don't know why, I just was," Chris explained.Addressing the experience, he went on: "I sort of didn't want to know, you know that one, which is crazy but completely understandable, especially for some reason where blokes are concerned."But the strangest thing happened, when I saw this, I just went to the telephone, didn't tell my wife, didn't tell anybody I knew, phoned my doctor and booked an appointment."It was so strange, I didn't even think about it, it was.