One in 14 men and one in 19 women will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime. The disease claims over 16,000 lives a year in the UK, making it the second biggest cancer killer. It is most common in the over 50s, accounting for nine out of 10 new cases.
Bowel cancer is a treatable disease if it is diagnosed early and screening is one of the best ways of catching it early. According to Cancer Research UK, screening produces the highest number of early stage diagnoses for bowel cancer.
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.