Bowel Cancer

What you need to know about Poor Combustion and Backfire...

The short and tall of it

The bowel is sometimes called the gut. It is part of the system that digests your food. There are two parts, the small and large bowel, but that’s more about the width of the gut than its length. Bowel cancer is more common in the large bowel and rectum, which is the very last part of the gut.

Your risk increases if there is a history of bowel cancer in your family. But not eating a healthy diet and being overweight or obese may also play their part.

Cause and risk of bowel cancer

The exact cause of bowel cancer is still unknown. However, your risk of getting it is higher if:

• You eat a diet high in fats and low in fruit, vegetables and fibre
• You are overweight or obese
• You or a member of your family has or had bowel cancer
• You or a member of your family has or had polyps. Polyps are not cancer, but if left untreated can lead to cancer
• You or a member of your family has a bowel condition called familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or hereditary nonpolyosis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). Trying to pronounce it can be pretty stressful too!
• You have a history of bowel conditions such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.

Reduce your risk

The good news is that you can reduce your risk of bowel cancer, even if it is in your family, by:

• Not smoking
• Checking out your diet:
  • Eat plenty of fibre. You can find it in fruit, vegetables, wholegrain foods and pulses such as peas, beans and lentils
  • Limit the amount of red and processed meat you eat
  • Limit the amount of alcohol you drink
• Being physically active for at least 30 minutes every day
• Being a healthy weight – being overweight or obese increases your risk
• Knowing your family history. If there is a history of bowel cancer in your family speak to your doctor about your risk and the need for screening.

Better sooner than later

Being ‘bowel aware’ is the name of the game. Guts play up at the best of times but there are some warning signs that you shouldn’t ignore. Watch out for:

• Blood in your bowel motion or bleeding from the back passage
• A lasting change (more than a month) in your normal bowel motion, such as diarrhoea or constipation
• Feeling that you have not emptied your bowel even after a motion
• Pain or discomfort in your tummy or back passage
• Trapped wind or full feeling in your tummy
• Weight loss for no reason
• Ongoing general tiredness or weakness

THE GLOVED FINGER…

Medical checks and treatment

Men die of embarrassment every single day in Ireland. Yes, having a rectal examination is not everyone’s idea of a good day out but it can save your life. It may be slightly uncomfortable but it should not be painful. A sample of your bowel movement may be taken to check for blood, whether or not you can see it in the faces.

Further tests to look into your bowel may be arranged if needed, such as a colonoscopy.

If you do have bowel cancer, treatment will depend on where the cancer is, whether it has spread and your general health. The main treatments for bowel cancer are surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and biological therapy.