April is bowel cancer awareness month, designed to raise awareness around bowel cancer. This year, Bowel Cancer UK has set the theme #PassItOn, to encourage people to share more important information about bowel cancer. The earlier bowel cancer is spotted, the more treatable it is likely to be.
It was recently reported that figures from a recent YouGov survey show 35% of UK adults are not able to identify the symptoms of bowel cancer. As bowel cancer is the UK’s second deadliest form of cancer, after lung, claiming around 16,800 lives a year, more people must understand the signs and symptoms of this disease. According to Bowel Cancer UK, less than 40% of people are diagnosed in the early stages of cancer, where it’s most treatable.
To help raise awareness of bowel cancer and ensure it is caught earlier, we have written this article with information about bowel cancer, symptoms to look out for, how you get diagnosed with bowel cancer, and the treatments available to those with bowel cancer. Read on to learn more.
What is bowel cancer?
Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK. Around 44,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year. It is mostly diagnosed in people over 50 but can be diagnosed in younger people. More than 9 in 10 people survive bowel cancer when it is diagnosed at the earliest stage.
The bowel is part of your digestive system and is divided into the small and large bowel. Cancer can affect both areas of the bowel. The large bowel is made up of the colon and the rectum, and cancer that affects the large bowel can also be referred to as colorectal cancer.
Bowel cancer usually develops from polyps, tiny bumps of cells inside the bowel. Most polyps remain non-cancerous (benign), but around 1 in 10 develop into cancer. If caught early, there is around a 90% chance of a cure.
Bowel cancer symptoms
Bowel cancer can affect anyone at any age, whatever your gender or ethnicity. Knowing the symptoms of bowel cancer can help you ensure it’s detected early. The earlier it is spotted, the more likely it is to be treatable. Some of the most common symptoms include:
- Bleeding from your bottom
- Blood in your stool
- A change in how often you poo or regularly having constipation or diarrhoea
- A pain or lump in your stomach or back passage
- Losing weight, but you are unsure why
- Feeling very tired all the time
If you have any of the above symptoms, it’s important to get tested. You can speak to your GP about getting an at-home test called a FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test), which looks for traces of blood in the poo.
Bowel cancer screening kits are also available to help spot bowel cancer before symptoms start you can get a screening kit sent to you in the post if you’re within the right age range for screening and registered for a GP.
Bowel cancer screening
Bowel cancer screening is offered to everyone aged 54 to 74 in the UK every two years and will soon be offered to everyone aged 50 to 74. This is because your risk of getting bowel cancer increases as you get older, and as it is one of the most common cancers in the UK, bowel cancer screening offers a way for people to get diagnosed earlier, before they may even experience symptoms. The earlier you are diagnosed, the better the chance of successful treatment, so bowel cancer screening tests can help save many lives.
If you are aged 54 – 74 and are registered with a GP, you will automatically be sent a bowel cancer screening home test kit (FIT kit) through the post every 2 years. Once you’ve completed the test and sent it off, you will usually receive the results of your test within 2 weeks via letter.
Getting diagnosed with bowel cancer
There are several tests that may take place for you to get diagnosed with bowel cancer. These include:
- A FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) which tests for blood in your poo
- A colonoscopy which is a camera that looks at the whole inside of your large bowel using a flexible tube
- CT scan or CT colonography, which scans your bowel, tummy and pelvis
Treatment for bowel cancer
The treatment you receive for bowel cancer depends on where the cancer is located (in your colon, rectum or both), the size of the cancer, whether it has spread to other parts of the body and your age and general health.
You may be offered a combination of treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and targeted drug therapies. At Clatterbridge Private Clinic, we have a team of specialist consultants who are experienced in treating all kinds of bowel cancer. They will develop a bespoke treatment best suited to you.
We can also offer our patients access to treatments not routinely available on the NHS, such as the innovative Papillon therapy pioneered by one of our consultants Professor. Arthur Sun Myint, who introduced this treatment into the UK through the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in 1993.
Bowel cancer treatment at the Clatterbridge Private Clinic
The Clatterbridge Private Clinic has a team of specialist bowel cancer consultants who have advanced knowledge of the disease and treatment of it. They stay up-to-date with the latest innovations and research into bowel cancer and can offer patients at the private clinic fast access to the latest treatment technologies.
All our staff are dedicated to providing exceptional cancer care and treatment plans tailored to each patient’s needs. We go out of our way to ensure your journey with us is as relaxing and positive as possible. You will be treated by a multidisciplinary team and can enjoy one-to-one care with nurses during your treatment and regular appointments with your consultant to discuss your care.
Our state-of-the-art clinics are purpose-built with a modern and relaxing environment, unlike typical hospital settings, they’re designed to make you feel at ease during your journey with us. We even have a private patient liaison team who are here to help you every step of the way, from answering general queries and arranging travel to and from the clinic to organising payments directly with insurers, so you don’t have to worry about it. We do everything we can to make your whole experience with Clatterbridge Private as hassle-free as possible so you and your family can focus on your treatment.
If you want to find out more about bowel cancer treatment at the Clatterbridge Private Clinic, get in touch with our team today. If you have recently received a bowel cancer diagnosis and would like to speak to someone about treatment at the Clatterbridge Private Clinic, you can arrange a call with one of our senior nurses to discuss your diagnosis and treatment options and find out more about care at the private clinic. Call us today on 0151 318 8569 or email grace.walker11@nhs.net.