GORDON WISHART

MANY people are surprised to learn 54 per cent of bowel cancer cases are preventable.

Although most people are aware diets low in fibre and high in processed meats can increase risk, not everyone may know alcohol, obesity and smoking are significant risk factors too. With lockdown leading to increased alcohol consumption and decreased exercise for many, there could be a rise in bowel cancer incidence as a result of the pandemic.

While many symptoms of bowel cancer are specific (rectal bleeding or change in bowel habit), many are non-specific (weight loss, reduced appetite, tiredness) and symptoms tend to present quite late in cancer development. As a result, screening is really important to detect bowel cancer early.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, all cancer screening was suspended from April to August, and 1.9 million people did not receive routine bowel screening appointments. As a result, around 1,500 people were left undiagnosed with bowel cancer.

Delays in diagnosis will lead to many patients requiring additional treatment and having a worse chance of survival. It is estimated further three- to six-month delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment will lead to over 4,700 otherwise avoidable cancer deaths in the UK.

Finally, during the first lockdown there was a 63 per cent reduction in urgent two-week cancer referrals, and a 92 per cent reduction in colonoscopies.

This resulted in 3,500 fewer people in England being diagnosed and treated for bowel cancer from April to October compared to 2019.

These delays in diagnosis will reduce bowel cancer survival rates, which are worse than in many other western countries, with only 53 per cent of patients surviving for 10 years or more.