In this article, Consultant Surgical Oncologist, Dr. Saurabh Mohite explains about bowel cancer, and the benefits and risks of bowel cancer screening. It aims to help you make an informed choice about taking part in the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.
What is bowel cancer?
Bowel cancer is also known as colon, rectal or colorectal cancer. The lining of the bowel is made of cells that are constantly being renewed.Sometimes these cells grow too quickly, forming a clump of cells known as a bowel polyp (sometimes known as an adenoma).
Polyps are not bowel cancers (they are usually benign), but they can change into a malignant cancer over a number of years. A malignant cancer is when cancer cells have the ability to spread beyond the original site and into other parts of the body.
What is the purpose of bowel cancer screening?
• Bowel cancer screening aims to detect bowel cancer at an early stage (in people with no symptoms), when treatment is more likely to be effective.
• Bowel cancer screening can also detect polyps. These are not cancers, but may develop into cancers over time.
They can easily be removed, reducing the risk of bowel cancer developing. Is screening for bowel cancer important?
• About one in 20 people in the UK will develop bowel cancer during their lifetime.
• Regular bowel cancer screening has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from bowel cancer by 16% (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2006. Screening for colorectal cancer using the faecal occult blood test: an update).
What is the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme?
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