Walk Together for Bowel Cancer

Every September, Bowel Cancer UK hold nationwide Walk Together events bringing people together to walk five miles to raise awareness and money for bowel cancer research.

Although things are a little different this year due to Covid-19, the charity are still encouraging people to undertake the same five-mile walk but in their local area and at their own pace. You can get involved here

https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/support-us/fundraise/walk-together/

This year’s Walk Together event comes after the recent passing of actor Chadwick Boseman from colon cancer at the age of 43. His death has drawn further attention to the disease and started an important conversation about who can be affected.

What is Bowel Cancer?

Bowel Cancer or colorectal cancer is a general term for cancer that starts in the large bowel, which is made up of the colon and rectum. An individual may be diagnosed more specifically with colon or rectal cancer.

Bowel cancer is the 4^th most common cancer in UK and the 2^nd biggest cancer killer with over 42,000 people diagnosed each year. Despite these numbers, bowel cancer is treatable and curable, and the survival rate is high where diagnosis is within the earliest stage.

Symptoms

• Bleeding from your rectum and/or blood in your poo;
• A persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit – this may include needing to poo more/less than usual, looser poo or the feeling that you are not fully emptying your bowels;
• Unexplained weight loss – this may be in relation to feeling sick, bloated or a loss of appetite;
• Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason – bowel cancer can lead to a lack of iron in the body which can cause anaemia;
• A pain or lump in your tummy or back passage.

Although most of these symptoms are often caused by other common conditions, it is always worth visiting your GP if you are concerned.

Reducing the risk

There are several factors which may increase your risk of getting bowel cancer, some of which we cannot control such as age and genetics. However, certain lifestyle changes may help to lower this risk. Alcohol consumption, smoking, obesity and inactivity are all associated with an increased risk of bowel cancer. It is also recommended that people reduce the amount of red and processed meat in their diet whilst increasing the amount of fibre.

Never Too Young Campaign

One of the misconceptions of bowel cancer is that it only affects older people. Although 94% of cases are diagnosed in those over the age of 50, bowel cancer can affect people of any age. The recent death of actor Chadwick Boseman has reiterated this fact and will hopefully encourage more people to think about the issue.

A lack of awareness often means that bowel cancer is not considered in younger people. As a result, the cancer may be picked up at later stage which can impact upon an individual’s chance of successful treatment.

Bowel Cancer UK’s ‘Never Too Young’ campaign was launched in 2013 and aims to make a difference to younger bowel cancer sufferers who are often overlooked. Although there has been improvement in the early diagnosis, treatment and care of younger people with the illness, a recent report on the experiences of younger people with bowel cancer has shown that things still need to be improved further

For more information about bowel cancer, available support and how you can help visit www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk