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Bowel cancer awareness
Bowel cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the UK. Like most other types of cancer, diagnosing bowel cancer early means that treatment is more likely to be successful. So if you have any of the symptoms below – especially if they’re persistent and not normal for you – contact your GP.
Symptoms of bowel cancer
For fast help if you have a sign of cancer
If you're worried you might have cancer and you have our health insurance, don't wait. Get in touch with our team to talk about your symptoms now.
Call us on 0808 256 1261
Learn moreHow Bowel Cancer UK can help you
Bowel Cancer UK is the UK’s leading Bowel Cancer charity. The charity is determined to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer. It has a range of information and support services, including:
- a wide range of website information pages covering topics from symptoms, risk factors, screening and diagnosis, to treatment and living with and beyond bowel cancer
- a rich resource of printed and downloadable information
- an online forum for anyone affected by bowel cancer, including family and friends, to talk about their experience, share knowledge and support each other
- an email a nurse service for any questions or concerns about bowel cancer
For more information, visit bowelcanceruk.org.uk.
About our health information
At Bupa we produce a wealth of free health information for you and your family. We believe that trustworthy information is essential in helping you make better decisions about your health and care. That’s why our content is produced to the highest quality standards. Look out for the quality marks on our pages below. You can find out more about these organisations and their standards on The Information Standard and HON Code websites.
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Sources
- Cancer incidence for common cancers. Cancer Research UK. www.cancerresearchuk.org, last reviewed January 2018
- Early detection of cancer. World Health Organization. www.who.int, accessed November 2018
- Colorectal cancer. BMJ Best Practice. bestpractice.bmj.com, last reviewed October 2018
- Suspected cancer: recognition and referral. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), last updated July 2017
- Rectal cancer clinical presentation. Medscape. emedicine.medscape.com, updated May 2018
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Author information
Reviewed by Laura Blanks, Specialist Health Editor, Bupa Health Content Team, November 2018.
This information has been updated in line with our bowel cancer page, which was reviewed by Mr Stephen Pollard, Consultant Surgeon, May 2018.
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Legal disclaimer
This information was published by Bupa's Health Content Team and is based on reputable sources of medical evidence. It has been reviewed by appropriate medical or clinical professionals. Photos are only for illustrative purposes and do not reflect every presentation of a condition.
The information contained on this page and in any third party websites referred to on this page is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice nor is it intended to be for medical diagnosis or treatment. Third party websites are not owned or controlled by Bupa and any individual may be able to access and post messages on them. Bupa is not responsible for the content or availability of these third party websites. We do not accept advertising on this page.
For more details on how we produce our content and its sources, visit the 'About our health information' section.
