Bowel Cancer awareness advice from Humber Coast & Vale

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, so please share any information you can with friends, family and on social media during this time, to help highlight the signs and symptoms with your contacts.

Signs and Symptoms
If you notice any of these symptoms and they last longer than 3 weeks tell your doctor.

• A persistent change in bowel habit to looser or more frequent bowel motions
• A strange smell from your bowel movement
• Tummy pain, especially severe
• A lump in your tummy
• Bleeding from the bottom without any obvious reason

No Butts campaign

This was launched in association with Bowel Cancer UK and ITV to promote Bowel Cancer awareness.

We love the acronym to remind us of what to look for.

Did you know;

• Bowel cancer can affect both men and women
• You may also hear it referred to as colorectal cancer or colon cancer
• It can affect anywhere between the colon (large bowel) and the rectum (back passage)
• It is treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early

9 out of 10 of people will survive bowel cancer for five years or more, compared with 1 in 10 when it is diagnosed at the later stage.

Bowel cancer screening
Men and women aged 60-74 are invited every 2 years to complete a FiT (Faecal immunochemical Test), the starting age is being lowered to 50 over the next few years.