Bowel Cancer Screening
Each year 35,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with bowel cancer, that is cancer of the colon and the rectum (back passage). This equates to 1 in every 18 people get bowel cancer, it kills 50 people every day. Every 30 minutes someone dies because of bowel cancer in the UK, every 15 minutes someone else is diagnosed.
Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer yet over 90% of cases can be treated successfully if diagnosed early, before the cancer can grow and spread. Nearly all bowel cancers start as mushroom-shaped growths called polyps.
Most people can experience bowel or bottom problems from time-to-time and usually there is nothing to worry about. It is important to be aware of what is normal, patients can then recognise any unusual changes. It is, however, extremely important that people are aware of the symptoms of bowel cancer. If patients have noticed persistent high risk symptoms for 4 to 6 weeks, they should seek medical advice.
Symptoms can include:
- A persistent change in bowel habit. This can be any unexplained or unexpected change to your normal pattern and can include constipation or diarrhoea (with or without mucous, a jelly-like fluid)
- Rectal bleeding (bleeding from the bottom) or blood on the toilet roll. This can be due to haemorrhoids (piles) but, if persistent, should be a warning to seek medical advice.
- Abdominal pain. This can be intermittent or constant and may be persistently dull or severe.
- A lump you can feel in your abdomen.
- Anaemia – symptoms include unexplained tiredness, lethargy or weakness and sometimes dizziness or breathlessness.
- Unexpected or unexplained weight loss.
It must be remembered that, in many cases these symptoms will not be bowel cancer but they should be excluded by a GP or specialist gastroenterologist.
A detailed history and examination should be undertaken. If necessary, a colonoscopy should be performed. The colonoscopy allows the specialist to directly visualise the bowel and take biopsies (samples) of any abnormalities seen. Most polyps (a precursor to bowel cancer) found during a colonoscopy can be removed at the time of the procedure, before they develop into cancer.
Nucleus Healthcare is a specialist, dedicated gastroenterology hospital, we specialise in bowel cancer screening. All our doctors, surgeons and nurses have spent many years pioneering research and development to help them understand bowel disease and bowel cancer. They are all experts in both scientific and clinical aspects of gastroenterology.