Reducing Bowel Cancer risk factors

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of bowel cancer.

We don’t know what causes most bowel cancers, but we do know that some factors increase your risk of getting the disease. Some of these are things you can’t do anything about, for example, age and genetics. But you can make changes to your lifestyle to lower your risk of getting bowel cancer.

You are more at risk of getting bowel cancer if you have one or more of the following risk factors. This doesn’t mean that you will definitely get bowel cancer. Equally, if you don’t have any risk factors, it doesn’t mean you can’t get bowel cancer.

Aged over 50
A strong family history of bowel cancer
A history of non-cancerous growths (polyps) in your bowel
Longstanding inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis
Type 2 diabetes
An unhealthy lifestyle

Scientists believe around half (54%) of all bowel cancers could be prevented by having a healthier lifestyle. You can reduce your risk by:

Improving your diet
Maintaining a healthy body weight
Being physically active
Reducing alcohol consumption
Stop smoking

Improving your diet

You can reduce your risk of bowel cancer by taking some simple steps to improve your diet.

Avoid processed meat and limit red meat
Eat plenty of fibre from wholegrains, pulses, veg and fruit
Be a healthy body weight

Body weight

Being overweight or obese and carrying a lot of weight around your waist can increase your risk of bowel cancer. It is estimated that 11 out of 100 bowel cancers (11%) in the UK are linked to being overweight or obese.

Physical activity

People who are more physically active, have a lower risk of bowel cancer. Being active can help you maintain a healthy body weight and makes you feel good.

Try to do at least 30 minutes of physical activity such as brisk walking, five times a week. As fitness improves, aim for 60 minutes. If you don’t do much physical activity, try starting with 10 minutes and increase the time gradually. It doesn’t have to be about working out in a gym. Enjoy it!

Alcohol

Alcohol is linked to seven types of cancer including bowel cancer. It is estimated that about 6 out of 100 bowel cancers (6%) in the UK are linked to alcohol.

For cancer prevention, it’s best not to drink alcohol at all. If you do drink alcohol, keep it as low as possible with an upper limit of no more than 14 units a week and try to spread it out over the week. Remember to have at least two alcohol free days a week. This recommendation is for men and women.

Smoking

An estimated 7% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are linked to tobacco smoking. Bowel cancer risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day.

We know that smokers are more likely to develop polyps (non-cancerous growths in the bowel) which could turn into cancer if not discovered.

If you want to give up smoking, your GP can help, advise and refer you to an NHS Stop Smoking service. These services offer the best support for people who want to give up smoking.

For the full article go visit Bowel Cancer UK’s risk factors feature.

For more information on bowel cancer please visit:

bowelcanceruk.org.uk
NHS
Cancer Research UK
Macmillan