The UK’s first-ever liver transplant as a treatment for advanced bowel cancer has been branded a success. Paired with other treatments like chemotherapy and surgery, 32-year-old Bianca Perea from Manchester no longer has any signs of the deadly disease in her body.
The success of this transplant cannot be understated, as bowel cancer is among the top fatal cancers, according to Bowel Cancer UK. An estimated 44,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year, with over 2,600 being people under the age of 50.
Some of the early warning signs of bowel cancer, however, can also look like the physical changes many people are expecting in the New Year as they drastically alter their lifestyle to achieve their 2025 goals. Weight loss, bowel changes and feeling very tired are all common symptoms of the potentially deadly disease that people might dismiss.
Losing weight, specifically when you aren’t trying to or haven’t made drastic enough changes to warrant how much you’re losing, is often cited as a sign of cancer and other serious health issues. An unexplained reduced appetite can sometimes cause it due to the undiagnosed illness, but a person may be losing weight even when they haven’t changed their diet at all due to cachexia.
Cachexia is common in people with lung or bowel cancer, although many aspects of it are still a mystery to scientists. Sometimes called Wasting Syndrome, cachexia involves changes in how a person breaks down, absorbs and uses food, and patients often lose muscle as well as fat, which can cause weakness or fatigue as a side effect.
Other early warning signs of bowel cancer include changes in bathroom habits, such as having diarrhoea, constipation, and going more or less often. It’s important to keep in mind that these symptoms specifically might come and go over time.
Some other bathroom symptoms include: having blood in your poo, which may appear red or black, bleeding from your bottom and feeling like you need to poo even if you’ve just been to the toilet. Pains or lumps in your stomach, bloating and feeling very tired for no apparent reason are also major warning signs.
The NHS recommends booking an appointment with your GP if you’ve had any bowel cancer symptoms for three weeks or more. It notes: “Try not to be embarrassed. The doctor or nurse will be used to talking about these symptoms.”