April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and Bowel Cancer UK are helping people to learn more about bowel cancer with their campaign #KnowTheHigh5 - highlighting the five most common symptoms of bowel cancer with the support of Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2021.
Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer but according to a survey carried out by Bowel Cancer UK of 2,148 adults living in the UK, 38% couldn’t name a single symptom of the disease and 71% of people aren’t aware of the prevalence of bowel cancer.
What Are The Main Symptoms Of Bowel Cancer?
The awareness surrounding bowel cancer symptoms is staggeringly low with only 49% of people being able to name the ‘red flag’ symptom of blood in the stool.
The other four main symptoms which are experienced by many diagnosed with bowel cancer have a very low rate of awareness based on those people could name:
- Change of bowel habits (22%)
- Pain or lump in tummy (13%)
- Weight loss (11%)
- Tiredness/fatigue (3%)
It was also found that those living in more affluent areas are more likely to be aware of these symptoms compared to those in deprived areas. For example, people living in Birmingham have a lower rate of awareness that blood in poo (36%) is a red flag symptom compared to well-off areas in the South West (56%) and the South East (52%).
Shame And Fear Are Preventing Early Diagnosis Of Bowel Cancer
While awareness stats being low is a huge cause for concern, another is that 6 in 10 people surveyed said that if they noticed changes in bowel habits such as constipation or diarrhoea or even experienced anal bleeding, they likely wouldn’t speak to their doctor. Reasons cited included difficulty getting an appointment in the first place (36%), being too embarrassed (13%) or being too afraid that it could be an indicator of something serious (13%).
However, ignoring or avoiding confronting these symptoms could be preventing early intervention which often saves lives.
Speaking to Bowel Cancer UK, BBC Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts, who was diagnosed with stage 2 bowel cancer in October 2021, said:
“It took me a while to pluck up the courage to call my GP at first. My symptoms seemed like things I could explain away. I didn’t want to be a burden to the NHS and I was embarrassed. I shouldn’t have worried. My GP took my concerns seriously, put me at ease and also offered me a home testing kit.
“This meant I was able to do the test in the comfort of my own home. Soon after I was diagnosed with stage 2 bowel cancer, which was very nearly developing into stage 3. Getting the help I needed in time helped save my life. If you’re worried please speak to someone, early detection saves lives and it helped to save mine.”
What To Do If You Think You Have Bowel Cancer
Although having bowel issues may feel embarrassing, remember that your doctor is no stranger to these symptoms. Genevieve Edwards, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK has stated that somebody dies of the disease every 30 minutes in the UK but ‘it doesn’t have to be this way as bowel cancer is treatable and curable, especially when diagnosed early’. Basically, the 10 minutes of shame that you feel speaking to your doctor about your bowel habits could be the 10 minutes that save your life.
The National Clinical Director for Cancer, Professor Peter Johnson has said that referrals for bowel cancer tests have been at record levels for 18 months and speaking to a GP about any concerning symptoms and acting when something isn’t right can make all the difference.