April is Bowel Cancer awareness month
The facts about bowel cancer
Every 15 minutes someone is diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK. It’s more common in the over 50s but it can affect people of all ages.
Around 268,000 people living in the UK today have been diagnosed with the disease.
Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer but it shouldn’t be, as it’s treatable and curable, especially if diagnosed early.
Nearly everyone survives bowel cancer if diagnosed at the earliest stage, however this drops significantly as the disease develops.
Being aware of the key symptoms and visiting your GP if things don’t feel right can help increase chances of an early diagnosis, and could save your life.
The symptoms of bowel cancer can include:
- Bleeding from your bottom and/or blood in your poo
- A persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason
- A pain or lump in your tummy
Most people with these symptoms don’t have bowel cancer. Other health problems can cause similar symptoms, but if you have one or more of these, or if things just don’t feel right, see your GP.
This April during #BowelCancerAwarenessMonth we’re supporting @bowelcanceruk.
Find out how you can help: www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/bowel-cancer-awareness-month #thisisbowelcancer
Now, more than ever, people affected by #bowelcancer need us to raise awareness of the disease.
Resources
Bowel Cancer Uk have a range of videos you can watch on their YouTube channel.
Book a free online talk about bowel cancer, symptoms and risk factors. Free awareness talks | How we can help | Bowel Cancer UK
There is also training for staff and volunteers who are tasked with spreading awareness messages. More detail here Our training, study days and networks | Bowel Cancer UK
