Kevin Foster: 'Why I'm backing battle against cancer'

Last week marked 10 years since my mother Linda passed away aged 59 having fought a long battle with bowel cancer.
I am far from alone in experiencing the loss of a loved one to bowel cancer. It is the UK's second biggest cancer killer but there are reasons to be very hopeful for the future, with nine in 10 people now surviving if diagnosed at an early stage.
An event held by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on bowel cancer on the anniversary of my mum’s passing focused on the ways we can ensure more are diagnosed early and those at increased risk due to a genetic condition are identified. It was encouraging to speak with specialists from across the country working on new treatments and improving screening programmes.
It was not the easiest of days to be discussing this issue, but I know my mum was always keen that her story should be used to encourage people to both get checked if they had any suspicions and to take part in the NHS screening programme if invited.
If you have any concerns about your own health, there is a lot of helpful information on the NHS website, which you can find by following this link: www.nhs.uk/ conditions/bowel-cancer

Red Sea
The attacks on shipping using the key international sea lanes near Yemen could not be ignored, with the US, UK and Allies right to take action against Houthi forces.
Speculation is also mounting amongst maritime security experts that one of our carriers and the F35-Bs she carries, which are at high readiness to join a forthcoming NATO exercise, could instead be heading for the Middle East. The US supercarrier, USS Dwight D Eisenhower, is scheduled to leave and our carrier crews are well placed to work as part of a wider US carrier group given the exceptionally close co-operation between our two navies. Deploying a UK carrier to protect the vital seas lanes close to Aden would be a strong sign of our Royal Navy at the heart of protecting global freedom of navigation and our interests overseas.

Budget
Ahead of next month’s Budget I joined with Conservative colleagues from across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset for a meeting with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt.
During the meeting I raised several key subjects for our bay with the Chancellor. These included reducing business rates for retail and hospitality businesses, raising income tax thresholds, NHS dental services, delivering the major rebuild of Torbay Hospital, cost of living pressures, providing new housing and inheritance tax.
The Budget will be presented to MPs on Wednesday, 6th March. I look forward to hearing what the Chancellor has to say on the issues affecting our Bay.
Surgery times
My next surgeries are on: Friday, February 9 from 10am till 12 noon and Friday, February 16 from 11am till 1pm, both at 5-7 East St, Torquay, TQ2 5SD.
Surgeries are for personal queries from residents they would like me to help them with. For an appointment you can either email me at kevin@kevinjfoster.com or leave a message on 01803 214989. There are also drop-in sessions at my office 5-7 East St, Torquay, TQ2 5SD between 10am and 1pm Monday to Friday where a member of my team will be available to help with any queries.