Colorectal or Lower Gastro-Intestinal (GI) cancer is also called bowel cancer. It is the general name for cancer of the colon, rectum, or anus. Bowel cancer is the 4th most common cancer in the UK.
Bowel cancer is treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early. Nearly everyone survives bowel cancer if diagnosed at the earliest stage. However, this drops significantly as the disease develops.
The 3 main symptoms of bowel cancer are blood in the stools, changes in bowel habit – such as more frequent, looser stools – and abdominal pain.
Bowel cancer is most common in people over 50, however younger people can still get bowel cancer.
The risk of developing bowel cancer depends on many factors, including age, family history, genetic conditions such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), Lynch syndrome, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, diet, and lifestyle factors.
It is estimated that 54% of cases are preventable, with the main causes, eating too little fibre, eating processed meat and being overweight.
There is a bowel screening programme which aims to find cancer early or to find changes in the bowel that could lead to cancer. The screening programmes send a bowel cancer testing kit every 2 years to people who can take part. Bowel cancer screening saves lives. It aims to prevent and detect cancer at an early stage when treatment is more likely to work.
If you have symptoms at any age, early diagnosis could save your life.
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- Changes in your poo, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea, or constipation
- Needing to poo, more often than usual
- Blood in your poo, which may look red or black
- Bleeding from your bottom
- Feeling like you need to poo, even if you've just been to the toilet
- Tummy pain
- A lump in your tummy
- Bloating
- Losing weight without trying
- Feeling very tired for no reason
Bowel cancer can cause anaemia (when you have fewer red blood cells than usual), which can make you feel very tired, short of breath and have headaches.
If you experience any of these symptoms, please contact your GP.
Bowel Screening
If you’re aged between 54 and 74, you’ll be invited to take part in bowel cancer screening every two years. The age that people are invited to take part is gradually being extended to include people aged 50-53. This means you may get sent a test before you turn 54.
What is a FIT test
The Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) detects traces of human blood in stool samples. The test is simple to use and can be done at home.
FIT is a test that can be used at home, where you collect a small amount of poo. This is sent to a lab where they’ll test for blood in your poo.
Screening can also help to find polyps (non-cancerous growths) which may be growing in the bowel. Polyps can become bowel cancer over time, screening can help to find them so they can be removed before they do.
Is a FIT kit better than a bowel scope?
One test is not better than the other, however uptake of bowel scope screening was lower than expected. The FIT test kit is a simpler test, done at home. Only a small proportion of people who use the kit will need further tests.
Click on the image below to watch a video about how to use the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening FIT Kit
Treatments for colorectal (lower GI) cancer include surgery, systemic therapy and radiotherapy or a combination of these treatments.
There are psychological and wellbeing services for anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer and would like counselling to support with the impact of cancer.
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