Bowel Cancer

How frequent in Bowel cancer?

It is suspected to be the3rdmost common cancer type in the UK. It is generally more prevalent in men than women.

Types of Bowel Cancer

Bowel system refers to the entire digestive system. When cancer is concerned it is classified into large bowel and small intestine.

• Cancer in small bowel known as small intestine cancer
• Cancer in large bowel known as colon cancer
• Cancer in back passage known as rectal cancer

Symptoms

Bowel cancer exhibits some common symptoms and they are:

• A sudden change in your bowel habits,for example, constipation and diarrhoea
• Blood in stool that appears black or red
• Bleeding from anus
• A persistent urge to poo even if you just returned from the toilet
• Abdominal pain
• Lumpson the abdomen
• Bloating
• Sudden weight loss
• Extreme fatigue

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Risks factors

Bowel cancer can be affected environmental, lifestyle and genetic risk factors. These may include:

• Inflammatory bowel problems
• Family or personal history of polyps and colorectal cancer
• Lack of exercise
• Excessive consumption of alcohol and smoking
• Obesity and diabetes
• Improper diet
• Age (above 50 years old)

How to prevent Bowel cancer

The risk of Bowel cancer is possible to reduce with the following measures:

• Have a balanced diet that involves plenty of fruits and vegetables every day
• Include more fibre-rich items in your diet
• Drink lots of water
• Stay proactive and exercise regularly
• Maintain a healthy body weight
• Limit the consumption of alcohol
• Reduce consumption of processed and red meat
• Quit smoking

Diagnosis

Diagnosis for bowel cancer starts with physical exam to extensive screening:

• **Colonoscopy-**A check of the large bowel length by inserting a camera through the anus and into the large bowel.
• **Flexible sigmoidoscopy-**To assesses the lower colon and rectum for unusual tissues.
• MRI- It collects cross-sectional pictures enabling the doctors detect any tumours inside the body.
• **CT scans-**It provides 3D images of the organs to check the bowel system.

Faecal immunochemical test (FIT) for the National Bowel Screening Programme

In the UK, this test is a common routine test for bowel cancer in the older population. The kit includes a tube with stick attached to the lid to collect stool sample which is then placed back in the tube. This sample is then sent to a lab for testing.

Treatment for Bowel cancer

• Surgery- Primarily, a doctor will perform surgery to remove the cancerous cells.
• Radiotherapy-. Sometimes, the combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy is carried out to destroy the cancer cells.
• Chemotherapy- Sometimes, chemotherapy is given post-surgeryreduce the risk of recurrence of the cancer.