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The Chaucer Hospital

The Spencer Wing

St Saviour's Hospital

Bowel Cancer

Bowel cancer affects over 20,000 people per year in the UK. The majority of patients are over 50, but 10% are under the age of 50 - some even in their late teens and early twenties. In many cases, bowel cancer occurs without any obvious cause, but the following factors may be implicated: family history; ulcerative colitis; diet; obesity.

Curability
Bowel cancer may spread through the wall of the bowel to invade adjacent organs and via the blood stream or the lymphatic system. However, when bowel cancer is diagnosed early, then there is an excellent chance of being completely cured.

Symptoms
The vast majority of patients with bowel symptoms do not have serious conditions. The following symptoms however deserve more close attention:

Persistent change in bowel habit particularly to increased frequency of going to the toilet and or increased looseness of the stools particularly when this is associated with bleeding from the back passage.

Persistent change in bowel habit without bleeding from the back passage in patients over the age of 60.

Bleeding from the back passage persistently without any symptoms of piles e.g soreness, itchiness and pain around the back passage, lumpiness in this area or prolapse of piles.

Other higher risk symptoms and signs include unexplained anaemia and any 'masses' or lump(s) that can be felt in the tummy

Screening for Bowel Cancer
Currently, there is no national screening programme for bowel cancer. This will change in the future, but the details of who will be screened, and how this is to be carried out, are under discussion. The tests are likely to be Faecal Occult Blood testing (looking for blood in the stools) and/or flexible sigmoidoscopy (an examination using a flexible telescope to examine the lining of the bowel). If bowel cancer is suspected, patients will then be referred for a colonoscopy (an examination with a longer flexible telescope to inspect inside the entire length of the large bowel).

Certain people can already be screened for bowel cancer e.g. if bowel cancer runs in your family:

If you have:

One close relative under 45 affected (brother, sister, parent or child) - talk to your GP about screening. It's usually recommended around 10 years before the age at which your relative developed the disease.

Two or more close relatives from the same side of the family, and the younger those relatives, the more you need to discuss screening with your GP

A less strong family history - say one grandparent who died in their 70s or 80s - you are probably at no increased risk. Talk to your GP if you are worried.

Keyhole Surgery for Gallstones

The gall bladder is a small organ located beneath the liver that stores and secretes bile. When we eat, bile is added to the food as it passes along the gut. The gallbladder contracts and pushes bile out through the bil...

Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease that affects the lining of the large bowel (colon) and back passage (rectum). Approximately 100,000 people in Britain have ulcerative colitis.

Haemorrhoids ('Piles')

Haemorrhoids (piles) are swollen blood vessels in the back passage. One in three people experience haemorrhoids at some time.

Hernia Surgery

What is a hernia? A hernia occurs when the abdominal wall weakens (e.g. in the groin) and then bulges or tears. The inner lining of the abdomen then pushes through the weakened area to form a lump, which may move...

Polyps

A polyp is a protrusion in the lining of the bowel caused by an abnormal production of cells. It may be a tiny raised area (A); it may look like a grape (B) or take the form of many tiny projections clustered together (...