Stem cell transplants were hailed in some of the tabloid press recently as a miracle cure for Crohn’s Disease, which is a chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease currently without a cure.
One in six deaths worldwide are due to cancer. In the UK, 359,734 cases of cancer were diagnosed in 2015. Cancer rates are continuing to rise and as more countries adopt Western lifestyles this is expected to skyrocket by as much as 54%. Global cancer rates are predicted to reach around 24 million by 2035.
Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease are both forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease – or IBD. Sometimes people refer to them as silent or hidden diseases because it is believed many people go undiagnosed.
A colostomy is a surgical procedure that diverts a part of your large intestine out through an opening in your abdominal wall. This creates a stoma to which a colostomy bag is attached for collecting poo. Colostomies can be temporary or long-term.
If you notice blood when you open your bowels, don’t ignore it, but equally, try not to panic as it can have many causes, many of them harmless.
What is it like to have Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)? Unless you have the condition yourself or are close to someone who does, it’s not always easy to understand. Some doctors refer to it as an “invisible illness” because it often goes undiagnosed and is widely misunderstood.