Dame Deborah James: The signs of Bowel Cancer

Table of Contents:

– Dame Deborah James
– Bowel cancer in the news
– Detecting Bowel Cancer
– Importance of early diagnosis
– Symptoms of Bowel Cancer

Dame Deborah James

The podcaster and campaigner raised millions for cancer research through her podcast, ‘You, Me and the Big C’, and her fund Bowelbabe. Earlier this year, she received a Damehood from Prince William for her fundraising efforts.

Since her death, the Bowelbabe fund has reached over £7m, which will go towards supporting cancer research in the UK. As well as raising money, Dame Deborah James advocated for increased education around the signs of bowel cancer.

Through her podcast and Instagram page ‘Bowelbabe,’ she provided her followers with the information needed to ensure they were checking for the signs of bowel cancer.

Toilet roll company Andrex have joined Cancer Research UK’s #GetOnARoll campaign, to encourage companies to list the tell-tale signs of bowel cancer on their products, a legacy campaigned for by Deborah.

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Detecting Bowel Cancer

In the UK, bowel cancer screening is available to everyone 60 to 74 years old. Since last year, this has been expanding to those who are in their 50s.

The NHS can provide a home stool test kit, that can detect small traces of blood. This could be a sign of bowel cancer.

Other methods of detection include:

• Blood tests – A blood test can determine if you have an iron deficiency (anaemia), which could indicate that you are bleeding from the cancer
• CT Scan – A CT Colonography can produce a 3D image of your bowel, which could identify potentially cancerous areas.
• An MRI Scan can be used to detect bowel cancer, by providing detailed images of the internal organs, including the rectum.

If bowel cancer is found, it will be categorised in one of two ways.

The TNM staging system

T – Size of the tumour
N – If it has spread to nearby lymph nodes
M – Has it spread to other organs?

The Numerical system

Stage 1 – Cancer has remained in the bowel
Stage 2 – Cancer has spread beyond the muscle of the bowel
Stage 3 – Cancer has spread to lymph nodes
Stage 4 – Cancer has spread to other areas such as the liver.

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Symptoms of Bowel Cancer

Screening for bowel cancer is only freely available to those generally aged 50 and above, so for those younger, it is important to know the key symptoms, and potential red flags of bowel cancer.

The following could be signs of bowel cancer:

• Bleeding or blood in stools
• Losing weight. Although, this is a less common symptom and does not always happen with patients with bowel cancer
• Tiredness
• Pains or lumps in the abdomen

There are also a number of other symptoms that are more likely to be other abdominal issues, such as IBS or Chron’s disease. These can include:

• Increased flatulence
• Weight gain
• Incontinence
• Loss of bowel control
• Back or hip pain

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Get Free Initial Advice

No two cancer diagnosis claims are the same. This means you will need to speak to a specialist medical negligence solicitor about the circumstances of your bowel cancer diagnosis so that they can advise you. Blackwater Law provides free initial advice to anyone thinking about making a claim for bowel cancer misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis compensation, or anyone who is simply curious as to whether they may be eligible to claim. If we believe you may be entitled to claim compensation for bowel cancer misdiagnosis, we will agree to act for you on a no-win, no-fee basis.

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