Symptoms

Main symptoms of bowel cancer

Symptoms of bowel cancer may include:

changes in your poo, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is not usual for you
needing to poo more or less often than is usual for you
blood in your poo, which may look red or black
bleeding from your bottom
often feeling like you need to poo, even if you've just been to the toilet
tummy pain
a lump in your tummy
bloating
losing weight without trying
feeling very tired or short of breath - these are signs of anaemia, which can be caused by bowel cancer

When and where to get medical help

If you have symptoms of bowel cancer, it's important to get checked. If it is bowel cancer, finding it early can make it easier to treat.

See a GP if:

you have any symptoms of bowel cancer

Try not to be embarrassed. The doctor or nurse will be used to talking about these symptoms.

Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if:

your poo is black or dark red
you have bloody diarrhoea

You can call 111 or get help from 111 online.

Call 999 or go to A&E if:

you're bleeding non-stop from your bottom
there's a lot of blood or you see large blood clots when you poo

Find your nearest A&E

Do not drive to A&E. Ask someone to drive you or call 999 and ask for an ambulance.

Bring any medicines you take with you.

Important

Some of these symptoms are very common and can be caused by other conditions.

Having the symptoms does not definitely mean you have bowel cancer, but it's important to get checked by a GP.

If your symptoms are caused by cancer, finding it early may mean it's easier to treat.

What happens at your GP appointment

The doctor will ask you more about your symptoms, general health, medical history and if anyone in your family has had bowel cancer.

Depending on your symptoms, the doctor may feel your tummy and ask to do a rectal examination. This is where they put a gloved finger inside your bottom to check for any lumps.

You'll be asked to undress from the waist down for the rectal exam. You can ask for a male or female doctor or nurse.

You can ask for someone else to be in the room with you when the rectal examination happens.

You may be asked for a poo sample (stool sample) for testing, or be given a bowel cancer screening home test kit called a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) to collect a small sample of poo and send it to a lab. These check if you're bleeding from your bowel, which can be a sign of bowel cancer.

You may also be asked to have a blood test.

Referral to a specialist

You may get an urgent referral for more tests or to see a specialist in hospital if the GP thinks you have symptoms that could be cancer. This does not definitely mean you have cancer.

Find out more

Seeing your GP about bowel cancer (Cancer Research UK)

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