Bowel cancer

Bowel cancer - the facts

Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK after breast and lung cancer. Almost 100 people in this country are diagnosed with the disease every day. Bowel cancer affects similar numbers of men and women.

A largely preventable disease

The good news is that around two-thirds of bowel cancer cases could be prevented by changes to lifestyle. We can all make choices that will reduce the risk of the disease, such as taking plenty of exercise, maintaining a healthy body weight and eating a healthy diet.

For more about what affects your risk of developing bowel cancer. Learn more about the evidence behind our health message.

It's crucial to find bowel cancer early

When bowel cancer is found early more than eight out of ten people will survive. Bowel cancer can have recognisable symptoms. If you notice any of the following changes and they last longer than four to six weeks you should report them to your GP. These symptoms are unlikely to be caused by cancer, but it's better to play safe.

• Bleeding from the bottom without any obvious reason
• A persistent change in bowel habit to looser or more frequent bowel motions
• Tummy pain, especially if severe
• A lump in your tummy

Bowel cancer screening programme

When plans for the implementation of a national bowel screening programme ran into problems following financial difficulties within the NHS earlier this year, Cancer Research UK was instrumental in putting continued pressure on the Government which ensured that the funding for the programme was secured and that screening is now being gradually rolled out across the UK.

This is the first time that a national screening programme will include men and women. Everyone in England aged 60 – 69 who is registered with a GP will be invited to take a screening test by 2009. In Scotland a similar screening programme has been rolled out to men and women aged 50 – 74 since March 2007.

Further information

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with bowel cancer, you will find more detailed information on our patient information site, CancerHelp UK.

Learn more about how bowel cancer develops and the progress our scientists are making by reading our bowel cancer briefsheet (PDF).

You can also access the latest statistics for bowel cancer, or download a PDF version of the statistics factsheet.

In addition we have a bowel cancer leaflet (PDF) that has information on bowel cancer symptoms and how to reduce your risk of the developing the disease.

Cancer nurses

If you want to talk in confidence about cancer, we have a team of specialist cancer information nurses who can help. Our nurses can be contacted between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday on 020 7061 8355.