Bowel cancer - How common is it?
Bowel cancer is the third most common type of cancer in the UK for men and the second most common for women.
In men, only lung cancer and prostate cancer are more common than colon and rectal cancer. In women, only breast cancer is more common.[1]
More than 35,000 people are diagnosed with it each year in the UK.[1] Your GP will probably see one new person with the disease a year.
More than 80 percent of cancers of the bowel happen in people over the age of 60. Only 1 percent of these cancers are in people under the age of 40.[2]
References
- Cancer Research UK. Bowel cancer section overview. Available at http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/ (accessed on 8 May 2006).
- Department of Health. Referral guidelines for suspected cancer. Available at http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/01/44/21/04014421.pdf (accessed on 2 July 2007).
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited ("BMJ Group") 2007. All rights reserved
This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.
