Colorectal cancer
This is most common in the over-60s with symptoms including
bleeding from the rectum or blood in the stools, changes in bowel
habits, a lump or pain. Many over-50s have polyps in the bowel
which over time might develop into cancer; screening can detect
these polyps which can then be removed. A recent study found that
screening using sigmoidoscopy (a flexible tube inserted into the
bowel) to detect polyps and then removing them reduced the
incidence of bowel cancer by a third in the 55-64 age group*.
Diagnosis of bowel or rectum cancer can include a barium enema,
sigmoidoscopy, CT and MRI scans, and ultrasound.
Surgery to remove part of the bowel is often recommended for
bowel cancer. Depending on how much is being removed you might need
a colostomy or ileostomy where waste products are collected into a
bag outside the body.
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are often used either before or
after surgery - sometimes delivered in combination. A new form of
radiotherapy called brachytherapy involves inserting radioactive
materials into the rectum, close to the tumour.
Contact us
Ramsay hospitals offers a range of screening and diagnostic
procedures at a time convenient to you, and also offers treatment
for some of the most common types of cancer. We offer the support
of multi-disciplinary teams who will be working together to ensure
you get the care which is right for you.
If you would like to discuss possible tests or treatment
contact
us.
*Reference -
Once-only flexible sigmoidoscopy screening in prevention of
colorectal cancer: a multicentre randomised controlled trial,
The Lancet, 2010