Dr Dominic Rowley
Consultant Physician in Genitourinary Medicine, and member of the European AIDS Clinical Society and the Scientific Committee of EACS YING (Young Investigators Branch)
People are ignoring bowel cancer symptoms because they’re too embarrassed to talk about their toilet habits, expert doctor, Dominic Rowley, has said.
But over 42,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year, and survival rates drop dramatically the later it is diagnosed.
“Getting screening on a regular basis is so important, if caught early, there is a 95% chance of survival rate when it comes to bowel cancer” says Dr Dominic Rowley.
Worryingly, only two out of five people are diagnosed in stages one or two, when it is most treatable.
“Don’t be embarrassed. Checking your symptoms can save your life.”
Because a lot of people find a visit to the doctor embarrassing, many are now turning to self-testing kits.
“There’s been a big drive in tests that people can take themselves in the privacy of their own home. It takes away that embarrassment factor.”
Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer, so don’t put off taking a test. It could save your life.
As bowel cancer is now becoming more common in younger people, it’s now more important than ever that people get tested, especially as the NHS doesn’t currently offer screening for under-60s.
Common symptoms include:
• Bleeding from your rectum or blood in your stool
• A persistent change in bowel habits, including diarrhoea or constipation
• Softer and looser stool than usual
• Unexplained weight loss
• Extreme weakness or tiredness
• Dizziness or shortness of breath
• Persistent pain in your stomach
• A lump in your stomach
If you have any of the above symptoms or feel generally unwell, you can take an at-home test to check for blood in your stool – don’t put it off.
LetsGetChecked’s easy-to-use test is ISO accredited and the sample is processed in the same laboratories that hospitals use.
Just collect your sample before 9am in a fasted state and return it immediately to the laboratory in the prepaid envelope.
It costs just £59 and is the first step in finding out if you could have bowel cancer. If blood is found, it means you need further testing in the form of a colonoscopy to determine if you definitely have bowel cancer.
A medical professional from LetsGetChecked’s team will give you a call to discuss your results and treatment options if necessary.
You can track your sample on your personalised dashboard, and everything is anonymised with a unique barcode linked to you.
Many people don’t pay attention to bowel cancer symptoms but checking them early on is the most effective way to diagnose cancer early.
There are a lot of self-testing kits on the market, but not all of them are to be trusted – in fact, the government seized over 10,000 unsafe kits in recent years.
LetsGetChecked has an Excellent rating on Trustpilot and is ISO accredited.
“If you have a change in bowel habits, or if you experience any bleeding — even if you think it’s just a haemorrhoid, and it doesn’t go away — just get tested. It could save your life.”
