Health Facts

General Health

One Australian dies of bowel cancer every two hours.
That's compared to one road death every five hours and one death from breast cancer every four hours.
10,000 Australians per annum are diagnosed with bowel cancer, of that 4,500 will die (nearly 50%).
According to national averages, 1 in 18 men and 1 in 27 women will develop bowel cancer. It is the most common internal cancer and the second most common in women (apart from skin cancer).
Bowel cancer accounts for 14% of cancer deaths in Australia.

If detected early enough bowel cancer is very treatable and even curable.
Bowel cancers begin as benign growths of the lining of the large bowel, called 'polyps'. Polyps can be detected in a number of ways including colonoscopy and barium X-ray of the bowel. Almost all polyps can be removed without an operation, during a colonoscopy. Once removed the polyp can no longer develop into a cancer.
Even if a bowel polyp becomes a cancer, patients still have a good chance of survival. In its early stages most bowel cancer can be cured by surgery (and most surgery does NOT involve a bag or colostomy).
Checkups with your GP are essential to avoiding bowel cancer. It is recommended you start having checkups at 50-55 years of age.

A family history of bowel cancer significantly increases the risk.
Age increases the risk (all people over 50 should be appropriately screened).
An unbalanced diet low in high-fibre foods including vegetables, legumes and grains increases the risk.

A change in the usual pattern of your bowels, such as the development of persistent constipation, diarrhoea or irregularity in someone whose bowels have previously been regular.
Blood in the stool.
Iron deficiency anaemia, where testing of the blood shows a low "haemoglobin" and depleted reserves of iron.
Abdominal pain.

Source: Bowel Cancer & Digestive Research Institute Australia www.gutdisorders.com