Risk:

• Being over 50
• Strong family history of bowel cancer. All family members should tell their GP if they have one first-degree relative diagnosed with bowel cancer before the age of 50, or two or more relatives diagnosed at any age, or one or more relatives with a known genetic condition linked to bowel cancer
• History of non-cancerous growths (polyps) in your bowel
• Longstanding inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis
• Type 2 diabetes

Lifestyle factors:

• Avoid processed meat and limit red meat consumption.
• Eat plenty of fibre from whole grains, pulses, veg and fruit.
• Maintain a healthy body weight
• Increase physical activity
• Reduce alcohol consumption: about 6% in the UK are linked to alcohol
• Stop smoking: An estimated 7% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are linked to tobacco smoking

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Screening

Screening tests healthy people to see if they show early signs of cancer, or non-cancerous growths (polyps) that may develop into cancer in the future. Removing these can reduce your risk of getting bowel cancer.

At the London General Practice they guide their patients to access screening techniques to detect bowel cancers early.

• Faecal immunochemical test (FIT) or Faecal occult blood test (FOBT). Both look for tiny traces of blood in a stool sample.
• CT Colonoscopy, or virtual colonoscopy . This is when your bowel is imaged using a CT scanner
• Bowel scope screening. This test involves an endoscopist using a flexible tube called a colonoscope with a light and a camera to examine the bowel and take samples where needed.

Treatment

Would depend on each individual case, but may comprise surgery with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Even cases of advanced bowel cancer, where cancer cells may have spread beyond the bowel, can be treated through a variety of novel techniques.

THE DETAILS

The London General Practice
114a Harley Street,
London W1G 7JL

Tel: 0207 935 1000

Private GP services:
thelondongeneralpractice.com