Bowel/colorectal cancer is cancer that begins in your large bowel. It can also be called colon cancer or rectal cancer depending on where the cancer starts. Most bowel cancers occur in the rectum.
Bowel and colorectal cancer usually develop from small growths on your bowel wall that are called polyps. Most polyps are harmless and are called benign. However, some polyps become cancerous over time and are known as malignant polyps.
Cancerous polyps start to grow quickly and in a strange way. They can grow not just on your bowel lining but into the deeper layers of your bowel wall and to your surrounding tissues including your lymph nodes nearby. If bowel/colorectal cancer advances further, it can spread to other parts of your body such as your liver and lungs. In most cases, bowel cancer grows slowly over many years.
Bowel cancer is categorised into stages that tell you where the cancer is and how far it has spread. Staging bowel/colorectal cancer will help your doctor to determine the best treatment.
As with all cancers, the sooner bowel cancer is detected and diagnosed the better your outcome and chance of survival. It is important to see a doctor as soon as possible if you have bowel/colorectal symptoms. Your doctor will recommend bowel/colorectal cancer tests to investigate your symptoms further.
Most people diagnosed with bowel/colorectal cancer are over the age of 60. Bowel cancer screening is offered on the NHS every two years if you are aged between 60 and 74. This age range is due to be extended to include people aged 50 to 59.
There are three main bowel/colorectal cancer symptoms.
These symptoms of bowel/colorectal cancer can be easy to miss. You should take them more seriously as you get older and if they persist.
If you have close family members who have had bowel cancer, you might be worried about your own risk of it. In most cases, bowel cancer is not passed down through the family. However, if you have a family history of bowel cancer in a first-degree relative, including your mother, father, brother or sister and they were diagnosed with the condition before the age of 50, you may have an increased lifetime risk of developing it yourself.
You should be aware that the exact cause of bowel cancer is unknown. Research shows several factors, including family history, may make you more likely to develop it. Other factors include being age 60 or over, eating a diet high in red or processed meats and low in fibre, being overweight or obese, having an inactive lifestyle and drinking alcohol and smoking.
If you’ve had another condition such as extensive ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease in the colon for more than ten years, you have an increased risk of bowel cancer.
The different types of bowel/colorectal cancer depend on the type of cell it starts in.
Other types of bowel/colorectal cancer are much rarer. They include:
These symptoms of bowel/colorectal cancer can be easy to miss. You should take them more seriously as you get older and if they persist.
Bowel cancer can be diagnosed using an endoscopy procedure, including a colonoscopy or a flexible sigmoidoscopy. They involve inserting a flexible tube with a camera through your bottom and into your bowel. The camera sends images to a monitor so that your doctor can see inside your large bowel. A colonoscopy looks at your entire large intestine. A sigmoidoscopy only looks at the lower part of your colon but is less invasive.
If your doctor sees any abnormal or suspicious-looking areas, they will remove a biopsy sample of the tissue and send it to the laboratory for examination. During a colonoscopy, most polyps can be completely removed. In a flexible sigmoidoscopy, small polyps can be removed.
Cancer of the bowel may also be diagnosed by using a CT scanner to produce images of your large bowel. This tends to be used if a colonoscopy was unable to show all of your colon or when a colonoscopy is not safe.
If bowel cancer is diagnosed, you can expect further tests to check if cancer has spread from your bowel to any other parts of your body. They may help your doctors to decide on the most effective treatment for you.
Further tests include:
Bowel/colorectal cancer treatment will depend on the stage of your bowel cancer, the part of your bowel that is affected, and your health and fitness for treatment.
Typically, surgery is the main treatment for bowel cancer. It can be combined with chemotherapy, radiotherapy or biological treatments.
Bowel cancer can be cured if it is detected in the early stages. However, a cure is not always possible and bowel cancer can come back. More advanced bowel/colorectal cancer is less likely to be cured.
Colon cancer treatment
Surgery is most commonly performed first if you have colon cancer. Keyhole surgery is more frequently used than conventional surgery as the results are the same and keyhole surgery offers much faster recovery times.
Sometimes, chemotherapy may be offered as a primary treatment for colon cancer, although this is less common.
Chemotherapy is often recommended as a follow-up treatment after bowel surgery, unless it is very early-stage cancer.
Rectal cancer treatment
You will usually have a short course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, called chemoradiation, before surgery to treat rectal cancer. The chemoradiation helps shrink cancer and reduces its risk of return to your rectum.
Bowel cancer and colorectal cancer are the same things. They are general terms for cancer of your large bowel. Bowel cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed types of cancer in the UK.
At Ramsay Health Care UK, we have the latest technology to investigate bowel/colorectal cancer symptoms and to diagnose bowel/colorectal cancer. Bowel cancer screening aims to detect and diagnose bowel cancer. The earlier bowel cancer is found, the easier to treat and the better chance of recovery. We use colonoscopy and blood tests, as well as imaging procedures such as abdominal, pelvic and chest CT scans to help stage your cancer.
Once we have your diagnostic results our team of experts discuss the best possible treatment for you, including any other possible therapies. Your surgeon or oncologist will explain the different treatments and their side effects and what you need to consider in your treatment decision. You will have the chance to ask all of your questions and we will answer them fully in plain English.
We understand the anxiety that bowel cancer symptoms can bring and the importance of early testing and diagnosis for a better treatment outcome. We offer convenient appointments for consultations, diagnostics and treatment, all without waiting.
Typically, surgery is recommended to remove bowel/colorectal cancer. Your colorectal/bowel surgeon will discuss with you their recommendation for the type of bowel cancer surgery. We use minimally invasive techniques whenever possible so you can recover quicker. Our bowel/colorectal surgeons are highly experienced and qualified in this field so you can rest assured that you are in safe hands.
We offer all-inclusive Total Care packages for access to all the treatment and aftercare you need to give you complete reassurance, as well as being recognised by all major medical insurers.
We have strict protocols in place to minimise your risk of infection, including Covid-19 so you can visit our hospitals safely.
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