Misdiagnosis of Bowel Cancer

What Is Bowel Cancer?

Large bowel cancer is the most common form of bowel cancer; small bowel cancer is far less common. Bowel cancer (also known as rectal, colorectal or colon cancer) specifically effects the lower part of the bowel and the colon. In males it is the third most common cancer after prostate and lung cancer and is the second most common cancer in women after breast cancer. In general bowel cancer isn’t diagnosed in under 40s it is most commonly diagnosed in over 65; however it does occur across age groups.

When diagnosed early, there is good survival rate for bowel cancer and very often it can be completely cured. Unfortunately if it caught in the late stages, the 5 year survival rate is as low as 6%. Bowel cancer has become diagnosed in the earlier stages increasingly frequently in the past ten years due to a heightened awareness in the public and in doctors of the warning signs of the disease.

The issue with bowel cancer diagnosis is that the symptoms for it mimic those of far less serious and more common disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome and haemorrhoids. But warning bells should start ringing in the case that you experience one of the following symptoms for more than 2 weeks:

  • Blood in your stools: this is the most common symptom and you should visit your GP immediately if you experience this symptom. If the blood is dark or plum-coloured this is particularly characteristic of bowel cancer.
  • If your bowel habits significantly change for two weeks or more (this could be constipation, diarrhoea or irregularity)
  • A sensation that you need to go to the toilet, immediately after you have already been.
  • Abdominal pain or discomfort that lasts for two weeks or more
  • Unexplained weight loss

Your risk of bowel cancer increases with age and also increases if you do not have enough fibre in your diet. Therefore to reduce your risk of bowel cancer it is advised that you eat fruit and vegetables, do not drink alcohol excessively, lower your saturated fat and red meat intake and try and maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle.

The risk of bowel cancer can also be genetic, if you have a history of bowel cancer in your family ask your GP to ensure a genetic screening test is done to ascertain the genetic risk to yourself. A link has also been proposed between bowel cancer and disorders such as Crohn’s disease.

Claiming For Bowel Cancer Misdiagnosis

If you feel that a medical professional has not taken your symptoms seriously enough and it resulted in the unnecessary progression of your cancer, make sure you contact 1st claims today to receive the compensation you rightly deserve.

Go back to find out more about claiming for cancer misdiagnosis.

Costs

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