- Health Related Articles
- Varicose Veins Procedures
- Mole Assessment
- Should we vaccinate against Chickenpox?
- New test for Prostate Cancer
- Januvia - a new drug for controlling Type 2 diabetes
- Gardasil Vaccinations against Cervical Cancer
- The Importance of Medical Health Checks
- Be Breast Aware
- Testosterone Replacement Therapy
- Diabetes - a growing issue
- The Cost of Sickness at Work
- Depression - you're not alone
- Love Your Gut
- Sun Awareness
- Bowel Cancer Awareness
- In the News
- Links
by Dr Sass Levi, Consultant Gastroenterologist
Bowel Cancer is the second most common cancer in men and women and the incidence of bowel cancer continues to gradually increase, although death rates have decreased in recent years.
Unfortunately awareness is still relatively low where bowel cancer is concerned. This is often due to embarrassment, as people generally feel uncomfortable about discussing their toilet habits. Most people are unaware of the symptoms related to bowel cancer and it is vital that awareness is raised.
When bowel cancer is diagnosed in the early stages it is one of the most treatable cancers. Furthermore it is possible to spot and remove polyps in the bowel that otherwise can turn to cancer in due course.
It is much better to find and treat polyps before they become cancerous. About 25% of people aged over 50 years have polyps in their bowel. Whilst most of these do not develop into malignancy, many of them have the potential to do so, given enough time. Polyps can be found and taken out by an investigation called colonoscopy, an examination of the bowel with a flexible telescopic camera.
Dr Sass Levi is Consultant Gastroenterologist at Wexham Park Hospital and also works privately at The Bridge Clinic in Maidenhead and the Spire Thames Valley Hospital in Wexham.
Dr Levi says “People need to overcome their embarrassment where their bowels are concerned.
Important symptoms to look out for include:
-
Passing blood in the stool
-
Large amounts of mucous with the stool
-
A change from your normal bowel habit, with the bowel function becoming variable, or changing towards being loose stool, or constipation
-
Abdominal pain
-
Weight loss
-
Feeling tired is sometimes an important symptom because cancers of the bowel can slowly bleed, giving rise to anaemia.
These symptoms do not necessarily indicate that cancer is present but they do indicate that further investigation may be necessary. In a number of cases these symptoms could be due to piles or colitis but it is well worth checking, if only for peace of mind.
There are a number of ways in which we can now screen apparently healthy individuals for polyps and bowel cancer and these tests are available locally.
If you have any bowel symptoms you should certainly see your GP and talk openly about them, he/she will be happy to help and if necessary refer you to a specialist.”
Further information can be found at www.beatingbowelcancer.org.
