Bowel cancer
Bowel cancer is a very serious disease affecting approximately 41,000 people in the UK every year and it is the UK’s second-biggest killer.
Overview
Bowel cancer is a very serious disease affecting approximately 41,000 people in the UK every year and it is the UK’s second-biggest killer.
Risks
The risk of developing bowel cancer, also known as colon cancer, is influenced by a number of factors. Understanding these bowel cancer risk factors can help you make changes to your lifestyle and be aware of the condition. Just because you have a risk factor doesn’t necessarily mean you will develop bowel cancer.
The key skin cancer risks include:
Age
The risk of developing bowel cancer starts to rise significantly from the age of 45.
Diet
A diet high in red and processed meat has been found to increase bowel cancer risk, whilst diets with a high proportion of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and fibre are found to decrease risk.
Cancer Research UK have stated that 28% of bowel cancer cases are caused by eating too little fibre and 13% of bowel cancer cases are caused by eating processed meat.
You should look at trying to reduce your consumption of red and processed meat as this is a great way to improve your health.
Lifestyle
- 7% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are caused by smoking
- 6% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are caused by alcohol
- 5% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are caused by too little physical activity
- 11% of bowel cancers are linked to obesity (having a BMI above 40), and there appears to be a stronger link between obesity and colon cancer in men.
Long term smokers also have a higher risk of colon/bowel cancer than non-smokers and heavy consumption of alcohol is also known to increase the risk.
A healthy diet and regular exercise is THE BEST way to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Being overweight or obese is a risk factor for many cancers so reducing your weight to a healthy level is a positive step in reducing your cancer risk.
Family history
A strong family history of bowel cancer i.e. several relatives have suffered from the disease, can double your risk of developing the disease compared to the average risk (25%). Bowel cancer caused by genetic defects can lead to bowel cancer that occurs at a younger age than is common.
Ethnicity
Certain racial groups are known to have higher bowel cancer incidence and mortality rates. Ashkenazi Jews are found to have several genetic mutations that cause one of the highest risks of bowel cancer amongst ethnic groups. African Americans also demonstrate a higher risk although the reason for this is yet to be established.
Other medical conditions
Other diseases often related to the colon such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease increase the risk of developing bowel cancer.
Symptoms
The same signs can also indicate other less serious conditions such as haemorrhoids (piles), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diverticular disease, infection or inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis/Crohn’s disease). However, if you have any of the symptoms of bowel cancer listed below you should seek the advice of your GP immediately for further tests to confirm a diagnosis.
The symptoms of bowel cancer are:
Blood in your stools (poo) or bleeding from your bottom
A change in your bowel habits that lasts longer than three weeks. This may include an increase in the frequency of passing stools, loosening of the stool and less commonly hardening of the stool i.e. diarrhoea or constipation.
Unexplained weight loss
A constant or intermittent pain in your tummy
A lump in your tummy that doesn’t go away
Extreme tiredness for no particular reason
A feeling that you haven’t fully emptied your back passage after going to the toilet
Reducing risk
A number of changes to your lifestyle can significantly reduce your risk of bowel cancer including:
- Eating less red or processed meat
- Eating a healthy balanced diet that includes fruit, vegetable, whole grains and fibre
- Reducing your weight if overweight or obese
- Reducing your alcohol intake
- Stopping smoking – find out more about starting a smoking cessation programme
- Having regular bowel cancer screening from age 45+
Getting tested
nitial tests for bowel cancer actually detect the presence of blood in a stool (poo) sample. This is known as a faecal occult blood test which involves sending a sample of poo to the lab for testing. If blood is detected, further investigations will be necessary and may include a colonoscopy (an examination of the whole of the large bowel using a flexible camera), a flexible sigmoidoscopy (a camera examination of the lower part of the bowel) or a virtual colonoscopy (a CT scan).
How doctors treat bowel cancer depends on the stage of the disease at diagnosis. Surgery is generally required to remove the affected part of the bowel. If the disease is more advanced, you may require chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy as well, and new approaches to treatment are looking at therapies which may reduce the risk of it coming back.