Accessible screening tool piloted by NHS England includes braille instructions and a better guide for stool sample
Thousands of blind or partly sighted people could find it easier to participate in bowel cancer screening from home owing to a new NHS tool aiding accessibility.
The standard test used to screen for bowel cancer requires an at-home stool sample in a tube, which is sent off and examined for any possible cancer signs.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Scientists say people with disease who drink two to four cups a day are less likely to see it return
People with bowel cancer who drink two to four cups of coffee a day are much less likely to see their disease come back, research has found.
People with the illness who consume that amount are also much less likely to die from any cause, the study shows, which suggests coffee helps those diagnosed with the UK’s second biggest cancer killer.
Continue reading...PET scans can examine entire bowel before and during treatment, avoiding risks associated with taking tissue samples
Researchers in Glasgow have identified a new means of diagnosing and treating bowel cancer with imaging technology, avoiding the need for biopsies.
Biopsies require an invasive procedure with a number of health risks, such as infection, and are limited in what they can capture within a patient’s bowel.
Continue reading...Hopes guidance could help diagnose colorectal cancer faster and cut NHS waiting times for colonoscopies
At-home faeces tests could spare tens of thousands of people in England and Wales from having to undergo invasive procedures to rule out bowel cancer.
It is hoped the move could help diagnose colorectal cancer faster and cut NHS waiting times by reducing the need to refer people for a colonoscopy.
Continue reading...Tests have been available to people aged over 60 since 2006, and will be offered to those aged 50 and above from 2025
A new study has found that 20,000 cases of bowel cancer have been prevented by England’s screening programme in a decade, as over-50s are set to be offered tests from 2025.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide. By 2040 there will be 3.2 million new cases per year and 1.6 million deaths per year, according to the World Health Organization. In the UK, nearly 43,000 patients are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year.
Continue reading...UK surgeon told the Public Health Association of Australia’s Cancer Screening Symposium screening is a ‘double-edged sword’
The UK surgeon whose work led to the introduction of bowel cancer screening tests has warned the practice has potential to be a “dangerous tool”.
In his keynote address to the Public Health Association of Australia’s Cancer Screening Symposium, Prof Robert Steele called for greater public awareness that screening is a “double-edged sword”.
Continue reading...Doctors found some patients could rely on chemotherapy and surgery alone to treat the disease
Thousands of bowel cancer patients could be spared radiotherapy, a study suggests, after doctors discovered they could rely on chemotherapy and surgery alone to treat their disease.
Radiotherapy has been used to treat bowel cancer patients for decades, but the side-effects can be brutal. It can cause problems that negatively affect quality of life, including infertility, the need for a temporary colostomy, diarrhoea, cramping and bladder problems.
Continue reading...Researchers find no such link for women, suggesting connection between diet and bowel cancer is clearer for men
Eating a plant-based diet rich in vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes can reduce the risk of bowel cancer in men by more than a fifth, according to research.
A large study that involved 79,952 US-based men found that those who ate the largest amounts of healthy plant-based foods had a 22% lower risk of bowel cancer compared with those who ate the least.
Continue reading...Champion prize at the British Podcast Awards given to series co-hosted by bowel cancer campaigner who died in June
Dame Deborah James’ podcast You, Me and the Big C, has been honoured at the British Podcast Awards winning the champion prize.
James, who hosted the podcast alongside Rachael Bland and Lauren Mahon, died last month aged 40 after receiving end of life care for bowel cancer at home. Bland died in September 2018 aged 40, nearly two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Continue reading...NHS chief says James’s last message to public to ‘check your poo’ is life-saving
There was a tenfold increase in people checking bowel cancer symptoms online immediately after the death of Dame Deborah James, the NHS has said.
More than 23,000 visits were paid to NHS websites for bowel cancer on Wednesday, compared with 2,000 the previous day.
Continue reading...Campaigner says death is ‘life’s last taboo’ and that she hopes talking about may bring comfort to others
Deborah James has said she is angry at the fact she is terminally ill, and scared of dying.
The campaigner, 40, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016 and has documented her experiences since on social media, revealed that in the weeks since moving to end-of-life care she keeps “shouting at people and pushing them away”.
Continue reading...Duke of Cambridge makes personal visit after ‘Bowelbabe’ told supporters she was receiving end-of-life care for her condition
The Duke of Cambridge has presented podcast host Deborah James with a damehood at her family home after her Cancer Research fundraising initiative passed the £5m mark in just five days.
James, 40, known online as Bowelbabe after campaigning to raise awareness of bowel cancer, launched the JustGiving page on Monday after revealing she was receiving end-of-life care for the condition.
Continue reading...Imperial College London researchers also find that drinking coffee protects against liver cancer
Consuming alcohol increases the risk of getting more cancers than previously thought, according to a major study, which also found that drinking coffee protects against liver cancer.
Alcohol consumption is linked to several cancers including those of the head and neck – mouth, pharynx and larynx – oesophageal and bowel, along with the more widely known connection with breast and liver cancer, according to an international team led by Imperial College London.
Continue reading...People more or less keeping to NHS guidelines at higher risk than those who eat little
Eating even the moderate amounts of red and processed meat sanctioned by government guidelines increases the likelihood of developing bowel cancer, according to the largest UK study of the risks ever conducted.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) suggests anyone who eats more than 90g of red or processed meat per day should try to cut down to 70g or less, because of the known link with bowel cancer. The NHS describes 90g of red meat as “equivalent to around three thinly cut slices of beef, lamb or pork, where each slice is about the size of half a piece of sliced bread”.
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