fbpx

Bowel cancer

Find out about risk factors, prevention, screening, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.



Bowel cancer – Early Detection Saves Lives

Regular screening and awareness of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer can save lives. If you are over 50 or have known risk factors, make sure
you take the bowel cancer screening test every two years. And if you experience any bowel changes that are persistent or concerning, see your doctor.

Early detection is key to successful treatment. Take the doctors.com.au Bowel Health Quiz to receive recommendations for how to lower your risk based on your specific answers and to receive tailored reminders so you don’t forget important future screenings.

Bowel Health Quiz

Don’t like talking about cancer? You’re not alone.

But, 1 in 2 people will develop cancer at some point in their lives. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do something to reduce your risk.

We want to help you detect cancer early, before it has a chance to take over your life. 

Take our Bowel Cancer Risk Quiz today and we’ll email you with tailored recommendations for how to lower your risk of developing Bowel cancer – including scheduling preventative healthcare screening.
Take our quiz today and find out how you can reduce your risk of bowel cancer!

Bowel Cancer Risk Quiz

We are proudly partnered with the Cancer Council – together we are working to positively change the health outcomes of Australians.

Refer to the latest Cancer Council factsheet about Bowel Cancer.

About Bowel Cancer

Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in both men and women in Australia and is more common in people over the age of 50. Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, develops from the inner lining of the bowel and is usually preceded by growths called polyps, which may become invasive cancer if undetected. Depending on where the cancer begins, bowel cancer may be called colon or rectal cancer. 

Risk Factors

While bowel cancer can affect anyone, there are certain factors that may increase your risk, including a family history of bowel cancer, a personal history of bowel cancer or polyps, inflammatory bowel disease, and lifestyle factors such as smoking, obesity and a diet high in processed meat. 

You can reduce your risk of bowel cancer by not smoking, by eating a healthy fruit and vegetable rich diet, by limiting your intake of red meat and avoiding processed meats, and by maintaining a healthy body weight.

Prevention

Bowel cancer is a serious disease, but if detected early, it is highly treatable. If you are over the age of 50 or have known risk factors don’t wait for symptoms to appear. Early detection means taking the bowel cancer screening test every two years. The test can detect abnormalities well before you notice symptoms – and at a time that it can be treated. 

Screening

While there is no one definitive test for bowel cancer, screening programs such as the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program can help to detect bowel cancer early, when it is most treatable. . 

Screening tests can find polyps so they can be removed before they turn into cancer. The two most common screening tests are the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and colonoscopy.

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program offers free screening tests to eligible Australians every 2 years from the age of 50. 

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of bowel cancer can include:

  • bleeding from the rectum or blood in the stool
  • a change in bowel habits, such as diarrhoea, constipation or narrow stools
  • abdominal pain, cramps or bloating
  • fatigue or weakness
  • unexplained weight loss.

If you experience these symptoms, it’s important to see your doctor so they can rule out other causes and, if necessary, arrange for further testing. 

Diagnosis and Treatment

If detected early, bowel cancer is one of the most treatable cancers, with a five-year survival rate of more than 90%. However, if bowel cancer is not detected early, it can spread to other parts of the body and become difficult to treat. 

This is why it’s important for Australians over 50 and others at risk to undertake a biannual early-detection screening test, to be aware of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, and to see your doctor if you are experiencing any bowel changes that are persistent or concerning. 

Bowel cancer is usually diagnosed with a colonoscopy, which is a procedure that allows the doctor to look inside the rectum and colon for polyps or cancer. A biopsy, which is the removal of tissue for examination under a microscope, may also be performed during a colonoscopy to confirm the presence of cancer.

Once bowel cancer has been diagnosed, treatment will depend on the stage of the cancer and whether it has spread to other parts of the body. Treatment options can include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or a combination of these.

Take Action - Early Detection Saves lives

Regular screening and awareness of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer can save lives. If you are over 50 or have known risk factors, make sure you take the bowel cancer screening test every two years. And if you experience any bowel changes that are persistent or concerning, see your doctor. Early detection is key to successful treatment.

For more information about bowel cancer, visit cancer.org.au or call the Cancer Council Helpline on 13 11 20.

Early detection is key to successful treatment. Take the doctors.com.au Bowel Health Quiz to receive recommendations for how to lower your risk based on your specific answers and to receive tailored reminders so you don’t forget important future screenings.

Bowel Health Quiz

Preventative healthcare is smart

But it is not always easy to manage – we get busy, we feel well, and somehow the very thing we know is smart slips another week, and then another.

At doctors.com.au our mission is healthy Australians, and we do this by making preventative health easier. The doctors.com.au is making preventative healthcare easy through appointment reminders, and access to new prevention quizzes will when released.

Find out more and register to be the first to receive new quizzes when released and appointment reminders.

Register

Disclaimer

Whilst appreciable care has been taken in the preparation of this recommendation, doctors.com.au does not warrant the accuracy of the contents beyond the source documents.
Any representation, implied or express, concerning the efficacy, appropriateness or suitability of any treatment, is expressly negatived.

In view of the possibility of human error or advances in medical knowledge, doctors.com.au cannot, and does not, warrant that the information contained on the website or this recommendation is in every respect accurate or complete.

Doctors.com.au will not be held responsible or liable for any errors or omissions that may be found in any of the information on this recommendation, and you are encouraged to consult other sources to confirm the information on bowel cancer, and in the event that medical treatment is required, to take professional expert advice from a legally qualified and appropriately experienced medical practitioner.

Your compare list

Compare
REMOVE ALL
COMPARE
0