Thousands could die of bowel cancer after screening stopped during coronavirus lockdown

THOUSANDS of people could die of bowel cancer if screening for the disease does not resume, experts have warned. Doctors have now warned that the disease could sweep the UK as many cases are left untreated due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer in the UK and causes over 16,000 […]

THOUSANDS of people could die of bowel cancer if screening for the disease does not resume, experts have warned.

Doctors have now warned that the disease could sweep the UK as many cases are left untreated due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

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Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer in the UK and causes over 16,000 deaths a year.

This is why The Sun previously launched the No Time 2 Lose campaign to urge people to talk about their number twos, in a bid to beat bowel cancer.

The early detection of blood cancer is key to catching cases early and this is done by detecting blood in a stool sample.

Once a sample has been completed by a patient it is then sent to a local centre where it is tested.

But during the pandemic the test kits are no longer being sent out and endoscopy examinations have been stopped, except for in emergency cases.

Experts have said that it’s this lack of testing that will result in a spike in deaths from the cancer.

Professor Mark Lawler, of Queen’s University Belfast said if a person with bowel cancer is not identified early on then their tumour will continue to grow.

Speaking to The Guardian he said that it will then develop until it reaches an advanced stage when it will be much more difficult to tackle.

Premature deaths

“People who could have been successfully treated – by having their tumour detected early and removed surgically – are not being screened and will therefore die far earlier than would have been the case a few months ago.”

His comments come after researchers found that people in the UK are less likely to be diagnosed with bowel cancer at an early stage, or to live longer than five years after their diagnosis, compared with other similar high-income countries.

A team from the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP) found that the UK is one of the worst countries when it comes to diagnosing bowel cancer.

It found that only 14.4 per cent of cases were diagnosed at the earliest stages.

This compares to Australia that diagnoses 20.8 per cent and Canada with 22.3 per cent.

It also found that people in the UK who are diagnosed at stage four only have an 8 per cent chance of survival.

This coupled with the halt in test services means thousands more could lose their lives.

So far in the UK over 41,000 people have died from the coronavirus and the halt in services because of the pandemic is paving way for a rise in other serious illnesses.

 

More than 42,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK each year but the pandemic may mean that many are being left untreated.

In April, guidance released by NHS England stated that more than 6,000 people had already been told their bowel cancer screening had come back positive.

These people were then told they would have the wait for a colonoscopy following an appointment with a specialist screening practitioner.

Bowel Cancer UK said up to 600 people could be living with the condition undiagnosed.

The chief executive of the charity previously said that the decisions taken by the NHS during the pandemic would have a “lasting impact” on bowel cancer screening.

Speaking to The Sun today Genevieve Edwards said people could lose years of their lives because of the delay.

“Bowel cancer is treatable and curable, especially when diagnosed early. But the COVID-19 response has severely impacted screening for the disease, which has been paused since March. This means people of screening age whose bowel cancer goes undiagnosed could lose years of life as a result of a later diagnosis.  

“There are people today with a positive screening test and no immediate prospect of a diagnostic appointment, as they too are severely impacted.   

“We know COVID-19 has placed unprecedented pressure on the NHS, but we’re extremely worried about the fate of current and future bowel cancer patients as a result.”