National charity Bowel Research UK, which funds medical research into all bowel diseases, has teamed up with the World Club Basketball Tournament to increase awareness of bowel cancer and other bowel diseases and raise much needed funds for its research.
The World Club Basketball Tournament was founded by Eric Douglin in 2015 with the aim of enabling players of all abilities to compete against teams from other countries while also raising funds for charity. Since the Tournament began, it has raised over £6,000 for good causes.
This year’s tournament will be held once again in Hastings in September and includes teams from USA, Poland, Japan and Lithuania, as well as the UK.
Eric has chosen to support Bowel Research UK as it is a charity he is personally connected to having needed emergency surgery in 2020 when he developed sepsis from undiagnosed diverticulitis, a common bowel disease. A section of his bowel had to be surgically removed, and he was given a colostomy, a surgical opening for the colon, or large bowel, through the abdomen that allows faeces to be collected in a bag stuck onto the skin of the abdomen / tummy wall.
After his initial operation, Eric found it very difficult to talk about his stoma, even among close family and friends. However, he found solace discussing it with people online and realised his physical recovery and mental health depended on him sharing his experience and challenging social taboos.
Lynn Dunne, CEO of Bowel Research UK, said:
“We are delighted to team up with the World Club Basketball Tournament and working with Eric and the young players, their families and friends. We want everyone involved with the tournament to feel comfortable talking about their bowels and breaking a social taboo that often prevents people from getting timely medical treatment. Bowel Research UK plays a vital role in early career bowel research and all funds raised from this tournament will go towards more vital research in pursuit of cures, better treatments and improved diagnoses.”
A survey last year by Bowel Research UK found that four in 10 people who had been diagnosed with a bowel disease preferred not to share details of their condition with friends, and more than a quarter (26%) had not told family members.
Eric Douglin, CEO of the World Club Basketball Tournament, said:
“I really enjoy working with Bowel Research UK having started supporting the charity by blogging about my bowel health over a year ago. Sharing my experience has been really helpful
in breaking the stigma for me personally and I like knowing I am helping others feel more comfortable talking about bowel health. I’m really pleased to be teaming up with the charity in support of the World Club Basketball Tournament, raising money and helping others understand bowel health issues.”
To book tickets and find out more about this year’s World Club Basketball Tournament visit www.worldclubbasketballtournament.com .