Bowel Cancer Awareness Month: why early diagnosis matters

This April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, which reminds us to raise awareness of common signs and symptoms to look out for, for the best chance of diagnosing bowel cancer early. Not everyone that experiences these symptoms will have cancer, but Bowel Cancer UK says that the earlier cancer is diagnosed, the more treatable it is likely to be.

Symptoms can include:

• changes in your bowel habits which can include having softer poo, constipation, and diarrhoea if this is not normal for you
• changes in the frequency of your bowel movements, which can mean needing to go to the toilet more or less often than is normal for you
• blood in your poo which can be black or red in colour
• stomach ache
• a lump in your tummy
• bloating
• bleeding from your bottom
• losing weight for no obvious reason
• feeling very tired for no obvious reason
• feeling like you need to poo, even if you have been to the toilet very recently

If you are worried about anything out of the ordinary, or any of the signs or symptoms above, you should go to your GP, even if you only have one of these symptoms.

A delay in diagnosis, or a misdiagnosis, can significantly affect the survivability of bowel cancer. Bowel Cancer UK states that ‘more than 9 in 10 people survive bowel cancer when it is diagnosed at the earliest stage. However, this drops significantly when diagnosed at the latest stage’†. When diagnosed at stage one, most people will survive cancer for 5 years or more after their diagnosis. In comparison, when diagnosed at stage 4, only around 10% of people will survive 5 or more years after their diagnosis.

If cancer is misdiagnosed or if someone suffers an avoidable delay in the diagnosis of cancer which reduces their life expectancy, compensation can be sought for the patient or their loved ones. This would be to help with things such as the costs of future care which would have otherwise been avoidable if the cancer had been spotted by the medical professionals sooner.

How Co-op Legal Services can help you

If you feel that you, or a member of your family, suffered a misdiagnosis or a delay in diagnosis of cancer then please call our medical negligence solicitors on 033 3060 2800 for free legal advice, if only to put your mind at rest.

A specialist at Co-op Legal Services will listen to the information you provide and assess whether you can make a claim, or give you initial legal advice, free of charge.

† Bowel Cancer Awareness Month | Bowel Cancer UK