Bowel
Nearly three quarters of bowel cancers are diagnosed in people
over the age of 65. The older we get our risk of getting bowel
cancer increases. If detected early 8 out of 10 cases could be
successfully treated so it's important to take part in screening,
know what symptoms and risk factors are linked to bowel cancer and
most importantly if you have any of these symptoms get checked out
by your GP. Early detection saves lives.
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- What is Cobalt doing to help people locally?
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- How is Bowel Cancer diagnosed?
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Symptoms
- Blood (bright red or black flecks) or mucus in the stool
(faeces)
- Changes in bowel habits, diarrhoea, constipation or both -
anything that is abnormal and lasts for more than two weeks
- The feeling of having to go to the toilet even after emptying
the bowels
- Pain or discomfort in the stomach area (colicky pain, cramps or
tenderness)
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme tiredness (this may be due to bleeding)
- A lump in the abdomen
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Risk factors
- The risk of bowel cancer increases with age. 9 out of 10 cases
occur in people over 50.
- A previous polyp or bowel cancer.
- Western diet containing a high content of red and processed
meat and low in fibre, fruit and vegetables.
- Certain families are at an increased risk of developing
colorectal cancer through inheriting a faulty gene.
- Patients with Crohn's disease or long-standing ulcerative
colitis.
- Sedentary occupation and leading an inactive lifestyle.
- Drinking alcohol and smoking can increase your risk.
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How is Bowel Cancer diagnosed?
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- Sigmoidoscopy / Colonoscopy
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- Faecal Occualt blood test
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Click
here to view our Bowel Cancer Factsheet containing detailed
information
What is Cobalt doing to help local people fight colorectal
cancer?
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The Charity funded a post of Research Registrar in
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust
to develop endoscopy based training methodologies for clinical
staff, both at local and national level in the UK. The initiative
formed part of a wider strategy to improve training of all
endoscopy health professionals and prepare the country for bowel
cancer screening.
People residing in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and
Worcestershire will benefit from this patient-focused research.
Patients with suspected gastrointestinal-related cancer will be
able to expect appropriate and rapid access to high quality
endoscopic services locally. They will also be the first to benefit
from the outcomes of the research and a national screening
programme
The Cancer Prevention team are encouraging people to take part
in the Bowel Screening Programme. Regular bowel cancer screening
has been shown to have the potential to reduce the risk of dying
from bowel cancer by 16 per cent.
About one in 20 people in the UK will develop bowel cancer
during their lifetime. It is the third most common cancer in the
UK, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths, with over 16,000
people dying from it each year. Bowel cancer screening aims to
detect bowel cancer at an early stage when treatment is more likely
to be effective.
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