‘Laughable’ or ‘a remnant of the Kamasutra fair’: a photo of the Amphia Hospital in Breda concerns many people. At the entrance there is an inflatable intestine that you can walk through. And many people think they see penises in the photo.
The large inflatable giant intestine is located in the hall of the Amphia. A photo op Facebook generated more than 200 responses. “It looks like an Easy Toys promotion hall,” someone jokes.
Yet the ‘cocks’ represent something completely different. “The bulges you see here are polyps. There are different types of polyps, of which this is a stalk-shaped one. This is a serious form of cancer that must be surgically removed,” says a hospital spokesperson.
The inflation bowel is there this week for a reason. “We would like to draw attention to the early recognition of colon cancer. Early detection can save lives,” the spokesperson said. Visitors can walk through it and easily see how colon cancer develops.
Attention
The Amphia responds sportily to all jokes. “If the attention – in any way – leads to more people thinking about their health, that is valuable. The hope is that the visibility of the intestines will contribute to participation in the population survey,” the hospital wrote in a response to Omroep Brabant.
March is International Bowel Cancer Month. About 12,000 Dutch people get the disease every year. The intestine will be in the central hall of the hospital until next Friday. “Everyone is welcome to take a look.”
