Bowel cancer: Symptoms to look out for in the toilet signalling the condition
CANCER in all its forms affects millions of people every year in the UK. Cancer can affect any part of the body, including the bowel.
Deborah James leaves hospital after bowel cancer surgery
Although the jingoism stirs the spirit, the government is serious about its intentions.
In a speech to mark the launch, Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “We have published the call for evidence for a new 10-year cancer plan for England, a searching new vision for how we will lead the world in cancer care.
“We want to hear views from far and wide to help us shape this work. Please join us in this effort, so fewer people face the heartache of losing a loved one to this wretched disease."
This means bowel cancer, along with other forms of cancer, is firmly in the government’s crosshairs.
READ MORE: Cancer symptoms: The ‘persistent’ toilet sign signalling a tumour
Symptoms of bowel cancer can be present and obvious when an individual goes to the toilet.
At this time a potential bowel cancer patient may experience bleeding from their bottom and observe blood in their poo.
A persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit is the most common symptom of bowel cancer.
Other symptoms to look out for are unexplained weight loss, extreme tiredness for no reason, and a pain or lump in the tummy.
While the experience of these symptoms may cause people to worry, Bowel Cancer UK provides a reassuring statement on this matter: “Most people with these symptoms don’t have bowel cancer.
"Other health problems can cause similar symptoms”.
Although not necessarily cancer, if a person has one or more of these symptoms the charity suggests booking a GP appointment.
Overall, it is considered far better to get checked over and to find the reason for the symptoms is non-cancerous than to just leave it.
This is what many people have done over the past two years, a lot of them not by choice.
During the national lockdowns most medicinal services were down as the NHS put all its efforts into treating Covid patients.
As a result, if someone was experiencing symptoms of cancer, they couldn’t necessarily go and see their GP about their concerns.
Subsequently, there are concerns of thousands of individuals either not being diagnosed or diagnosed much later than under pre-Covid circumstances.
Statistics have borne this out.
For example, Northern Ireland has found the pandemic affected the outlook for lung cancer patients; surgeries were down by 40 percent while radiotherapy treatment fell by over a quarter.
Across the UK the public are being encouraged to seek help if they’re experiencing symptoms.
For more information on bowel cancer, contact the NHS or consult with your GP.