Bowel Cancer Symptoms in Men

Bowel cancer is a major health problem in the United Kingdom. Improved survival is dependent on the diagnosis and surgical treatment of early stage disease. It is now widely accepted that most bowel cancers arise from pre-cancerous polyps, and a small proportion are inherited. 

Bowel cancer symptoms in men may vary from no symptoms at all to complaints such as rectal bleeding, a change in bowel habit, weight loss and anaemia. Sometimes an abdominal swelling arising from the colon may be felt by the patient or their doctor. Diagnosis is made by visualising the entire length of large bowel with a fibre optic camera to locate the site of the tumour, and obtain tissue samples for confirmatory diagnosis. A barium enema or CT-pneumocolon / virtual colonoscopy are acceptable alternative methods of examining the large bowel. 

If a diagnosis of bowel cancer is confirmed, the surgeon will arrange additional tests in the form of a body scan – either CT or MRI to establish whether the disease has spread to nearby lymph glands or perhaps to more distant organs. This process is known as staging the disease and is necessary before curative surgery is contemplated. Each newly diagnosed case is discussed at a colorectal cancer multidisciplinary meeting made up of cancer specialists who will be involved in the patients care.