News
Bowel cancer
Tuesday 28th May 2019
Patrick Kirby, Medical Scientist
Bowel cancer is the UK's second biggest cancer killer and the fourth most common cancer. Just under 16,000 (15,708) people die each year in the UK - that's a life every 32 minutes.
- Over 40,000 (40,695) people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year - that's one every 13 minutes
- One in 14 men and one in 19 women have a lifetime risk of developing bowel cancer
- Over 93% of people diagnosed with bowel cancer at an early stage survive for at least five years compared to less than 7% of those diagnosed at a late stage
- Five-year survival rates for bowel cancer have doubled over the last 40 years
- More than 8 in 10 cases of bowel cancer occur in people aged 60 or over, but bowel cancer can affect people of all ages