How To Check Whether You Have Bowel Cancer

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Philippa RoxbyHealth reporter

Getty Images Stock photograph shows a personification looking down arsenic they clasp their little tummy while sitting connected a sofa astatine home.Getty Images

Symptoms tin see little tummy symptom aliases bloating, arsenic good humor successful your stool among different things

Eleven cancers - including bowel crab - are becoming much communal successful young group successful England, according to a awesome study, but precisely why remains a spot of a mystery.

Rising levels of obesity are thought to beryllium portion of nan logic but scientists are still investigating galore different imaginable factors.

What are nan main bowel crab symptoms?

There are 3 main things to look retired for:

  • blood successful your poo for nary evident logic - it whitethorn beryllium agleam aliases acheronian red
  • a alteration successful really you poo - specified arsenic going to nan toilet much often aliases your poo becoming runnier aliases harder
  • feeling little tummy symptom aliases bloating, erstwhile your belly feels afloat and tight

There whitethorn beryllium different symptoms too, specified as:

  • losing weight
  • feeling you haven't emptied your bowel decently aft a poo
  • feeling much tired aliases dizzy than usual

Having these symptoms doesn't needfully mean it's bowel cancer.

But nan NHS recommends that you spot your GP if you announcement them for 3 weeks aliases longer, and if things conscionable don't consciousness right.

A schematic summarising nan main symptoms of bowel crab specified arsenic a alteration successful bowel habits, humor successful your stool, abdominal pain, discomfort aliases bloating, and utmost tiredness aliases weight loss. The database is originated to Bowel Cancer UK.

Sometimes bowel crab tin extremity discarded passing done your system, which tin origin a blockage.

This tin bring connected terrible tummy pain, constipation and sickness. You should spot your GP aliases spell to your nearest A&E consecutive distant successful those circumstances.

A image of Dame Deborah James. She is smiling and wears a pick dress pinch a paisley patter and greenish earrings, and is opinionated successful beforehand of a purple wall.

You, Me and nan Big C podcaster Dame Deborah James diagnosed astatine 35, and helped raise consciousness of bowel crab symptoms

Look retired for humor successful your poo arsenic good arsenic bleeding from nan bottommost erstwhile you spell to nan toilet.

Bright reddish humor whitethorn travel from swollen humor vessels (piles) successful your backmost passage, but could besides beryllium caused by bowel cancer.

Dark reddish aliases achromatic humor successful your poo whitethorn travel from your bowel aliases stomach, and could besides beryllium worrying.

You whitethorn besides announcement a alteration successful your bowel habits, specified arsenic looser poo, pooing much often than normal, aliases a emotion that you're not emptying nan bowels properly.

Doctors are utilized to seeing tons of group pinch a assortment of bowel problems, truthful location is nary request to beryllium embarrassed.

What causes bowel cancer?

No-one is judge precisely what causes it, but location are immoderate things which tin make it much likely:

  • the older you are, nan much apt you are to get crab - astir cases of bowel crab are successful adults complete 50, though rates are rising among younger people
  • eating a fare pinch tons of reddish nutrient and processed meat, specified arsenic sausages, bacon, salami
  • having a history of polyps successful your bowel which tin turn into tumours
  • smoking cigarettes tin summation nan consequence of processing galore cancers
  • drinking excessively overmuch alcohol
  • being overweight aliases obese

Scientists judge excess weight could beryllium down immoderate of nan emergence of bowel crab successful younger adults successful their 20s, 30s and 40s - but pinch less group smoking and improved workout levels and diets, they are still not clear astir different imaginable causes.

In astir cases, bowel crab isn't hereditary but you should show your GP if you person immoderate adjacent relatives diagnosed earlier nan property of 50.

Some familial conditions such arsenic Lynch syndrome mean you person a overmuch greater consequence of processing bowel cancer. But doctors tin activity pinch patients to effort and limit nan further risk, and guarantee they are diagnosed astatine an earlier shape erstwhile it is easier to treat.

How tin I trim my consequence of bowel cancer?

More than half of bowel cancers could beryllium prevented by group pursuing a healthier lifestyle, scientists say.

  • exercising more
  • eating much fibre and little fat
  • drinking six to 8 glasses of fluid a day

You should besides spell to your GP pinch immoderate concerning symptoms, and return up nan connection of crab screening arsenic soon arsenic it is offered.

Who tin beryllium tested for bowel cancer?

Getty Images An NHS bowel crab location trial kit. A mini cardboard container has printed instructions connected nan wrong of nan lid astir really to return a sample and return it Getty Images

But it's not disposable to everyone - only to those property groups astir apt to benefit. Screening isn't 100% accurate. People sent an astatine home-testing will beryllium advised if they request further checks.

In England, Scotland and Wales, screening starts from property 50.

In Northern Ireland, it's for group complete 60.

You will person a location trial kit to thief stitchery a poo sample which you nonstop backmost to beryllium analysed.

These could beryllium a colonoscopy - a process which uses a camera wrong a agelong conduit to look wrong nan full bowel - aliases a elastic sigmoidoscopy, which looks astatine portion of it.

If you're successful a younger property group and person symptoms, you should sojourn your GP but are not advised to bargain a self-test kit, because nan results tin beryllium confusing.

How is bowel crab treated?

Treatments are becoming much personalised, arsenic advances successful familial testing mean attraction tin beryllium tailored to nan measurement each individual deals pinch their body's ain cancer.

This attack still needs refining, but could mean other years of life for those pinch cancer.

At immoderate shape your crab is spotted, you will beryllium talked done nan treatments available.

That mightiness beryllium surgery, aliases a operation of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, depending connected your individual cancer.

Bowel crab is curable, particularly if diagnosed astatine an early stage.

  • stage 1 cancers - small, but haven't spread
  • stage 2 cancers - larger, but still haven't spread
  • stage 3 cancers - person dispersed to immoderate of nan surrounding insubstantial specified arsenic lymph nodes
  • stage 4 cancers - person dispersed to different organ successful nan body, creating a secondary tumour

More than 90% of group diagnosed pinch bowel crab astatine its earliest shape will past for 5 years aliases much - compared pinch 44% erstwhile diagnosed astatine nan latest stage.

Like galore cancers, 15 to 40-year-olds person nan highest endurance rates, because crab is much communal and much deadly successful older people.

However, successful general, endurance is not arsenic bully successful nan UK arsenic nan remainder of Europe.

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