With one in 24 Australian women expected to develop bowel cancer, there's no room to cut corners when screening for the disease, write Professor Kerryn Phelps.
Bowel cancer us one of the most common cancers faced by women. Its symptoms, such as blood or mucus in faeces, persistant change of bowel habit, general discomfort or cramps in the abdomen and bloating, a feeling of fullness and tiredness, usually appear when the disease is well advanced, so it can be difficult to treat. Diagnosis at an early stage, there's a 90 per cent cure rate.
Who is at risk?
- Bowel caner is the second most common cancer in Australia among men and women.
- At least one in 22 Australians will develop bowel cancer during their lifetime
- Australia has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world, with more than 13,000 new cases each year
- About 80 Australians die each week from bowel caner
- Bowel caner becomes more common as people get older and mainly affects people over the age of 50
- Regular colonoscopies or, if not available, FOBTs
- A high-fibre, low-fat diet
- Regular exercise
- Maintain healthy weight and waist circumference
- Avoid smoking
- Avoid excessive alcohol
- Limit fatty foods, fried foods, red meat and processed meat
- Ensure an adequate intake of vitamin D, as people with higher levels of this vitamin have been found to have a 50 per cent reduced risk of developing colorectal caner. Meanwhile, patients with higher vitamin D levels before a diagnosis of colorectal cancer have significantly higher survival rates.
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