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Anal cancer is considered a rare disease, with 514 people diagnosed and 129 deaths each year in Australia.
The anus (back passage) is the 4 cm long end portion of the large bowel, which opens to allow poo to exit the body. The anus is formed partly from the outer skin layers of the body and partly from the intestine. Two ring-like muscles, called sphincter muscles, open and close the anal opening and let poo pass out of the body.
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Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in Australia.
Around 69% of bowel cancers are located in the colon and 31% in the rectum.
Each year there are 4,919 new rectal cancer cases and 2,815 rectal cancer deaths.
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Bowel Cancer Australia recommends participating in screening appropriate to your personal level of risk.
The decision to be screened for people over the age of 75 should be based on an individual’s preferences, life expectancy, overall health, and prior screening history.
People aged 75 and over are not eligible to participate in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP).
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Bowel cancer is significantly impacting younger people with 1-in10 new cases in Australia now occurring in people under age 50.
New Australian and international research reveals bowel cancer rates in under 50s has increased considerably over the past three decades.
Alarmingly, over the next 10 years worldwide, it is estimated that 25% of rectal cancers and 10-12% of colon cancers will be diagnosed in people under age 50.
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Bowel Cancer Australia today launched a bold new awareness campaign, voiced by internationally acclaimed actress, Miriam Margolyes, for Bowel Cancer Awareness Month 2022.
The new advertising campaign, Home to one of Australia’s most preventable cancers, features a computer-generated female model to create a high-impact commercial that focuses on polyps growing inside a ‘talking bowel’.
Ms Margolyes was enthusiastic in providing the ‘talking bowel’ with its own unique personality.
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Download one of our dedicated Never2Young Advocacy Agenda social media placards and photograph yourself (and/or your loved ones) holding up the message.
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Bowel Cancer Australia's Bowel Care Nutritionist, Teresa, is an expert in bowel cancer recipes and nutritional information.
Fruit and vegetables are an excellent source of fibre, and with 30% of your dietary fibre needing to derive from food sources, adding fruit and vegetable into your daily diet is an excellent way to achieve this.
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An estimated 900 Australians who are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year under the age of 50 will have an underlying genetic cause, so it's important to understand the most common one, Lynch Syndrome.
Lynch Syndrome is an inherited genetic mutation which gives people an increased chance of developing certain cancers during their lifetime, often at a younger age than the general population. One of these cancers is commonly bowel cancer.
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Higher vitamin D consumption, mainly from dietary sources, may help protect against young-onset bowel cancer or precancerous bowel polyps, according to a study published in the journal Gastroenterology.
It is the first research to show such an association and could potentially lead to recommendations for higher vitamin D intake to reduce bowel cancer risk in adults under the age of 50.
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