Research has shown that rates of bowel cancer are on the rise in adults under 50. The reasons for this are complex, but experts attribute it to changing diets and lifestyle, as well as the extensive use of antibiotics.
Alongside this increase in cases, there will be a rise in the number of people surviving the disease. They will potentially be surviving the disease for longer than previous generations due to being diagnosed earlier in life as well as having access to better treatments.
This makes it more important than ever before that we invest in research on the issues bowel cancer survivors face, and how they can achieve the best quality of life after treatment for the disease.
Research, funded by Bowel Research UK and carried out at the University of Leeds, was published last month investigating the issues faced by people surviving locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) – cancer of the rectum that has been treated by removing the rectum but has come back in a different part of the pelvis. It affects 6–12% of patients previously treated with surgery, and treatment is more complex because there are fewer surgical options once the rectum has already been removed.
Lead researcher Dr Niamh McKigney and her team, including Professor Deena Harji who received funding for Bowel Research UK for this project, found that issues associated with the first occurrence of rectal cancer were found to continue after LRRC and years after treatment.
They narrowed the issues down to eight major themes:
- Experience of long- term follow- up care
- Unmet needs and areas for improvement
- Long-term physical effects of cancer and treatment
- Living with a stoma, urostomy or other urinary device
- Long- term psychological impact
- Impact on sexual function and intimate relationships
- Impact on daily life
- Feelings surrounding life now, adapting and the future.
Despite experiencing symptoms that had significant impacts on their lives, most people in the study were generally accepting of their ‘new normal’ and had adapted well – a theme seen across cancer survivors as they learn to adapt to life after treatment with time.
Dr Niamh McKigney said: “This is the first study to look at survivorship in this group of patients, and we hope our findings will help healthcare professionals focus their care where patients are most likely to be facing issues, and to tailor training to deepen their understanding of these areas. Our list of themes has also helped us identify gaps in how patients are supported, which can be fixed through more tailored training.”