Know the symptoms of bowel cancer — and what your poo can say about your health
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Each year, there are 44,000 new cases of bowel cancer in the UK — the second most common cause of cancer deaths among Brits. But a ground-breaking new surgery offers some hope. At 32-years-old, Bianca Perea was told her stage four bowel cancer was terminal. Drug therapy, chemotherapy and surgery had removed the disease elsewhere in her body, but not in her liver.
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But last summer, Bianca had a liver transplant – the UK’s first ever for advanced bowel cancer – and she’s now cancer free. While Bianca’s miracle operation saved her life, her oncologist at The Christie, Dr Kalena Marti warned, ‘what works for one person might not work for another.’.
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It’s still vital to be aware of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer — and that means getting to know your poo. Public Health England figures reveal more than one million of those invited for a bowel cancer screening between 2020 to 2022 didn’t take up the invitation within six months of being invited. Embarrassment is a key factor, as over a third of those surveyed said poo is a taboo subject.
But Mr Shahnawaz Rasheed, consultant general surgeon at the Cromwell Hospital, wants to reassure patients. He says: ‘People worry about a potential diagnosis, but also perhaps worry more about what happens during an appointment, whether that’s an awkward, personal conversation or an examination.
