Cancer support

  • Macmillan

    Cancer can affect your life in so many ways. They do whatever it takes to give people the support they need.

    Phone
    0808 808 000

    Website
    www.macmillan.org.uk

    • Bowel cancer

    Bowel cancer is a term used to describe cancer in the colon, rectum or the small bowel.

    The symptoms of bowel cancer can include:

    • Bleeding from the back passage (rectum) or blood in your stools
    • A change in normal bowel habits to diarrhoea or looser stools, lasting longer than 4 to 6 weeks
    • A lump that your doctor can feel in your back passage or abdomen (more commonly on the right side)
    • A feeling of needing to strain in your back passage (as if you needed to pass a bowel motion)
    • Losing weight
    • Pain in your abdomen or back passage
    • A lower than normal level of red blood cells (anaemia)

    Because bowel tumours can bleed, cancer of the bowel often causes a shortage of red blood cells. This is called anaemia and may cause tiredness and sometimes breathlessness.

    Prostate cancer

    Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with over 40,000 new cases diagnosed every year.

    Prostate cancer usually develops slowly, so there may be no signs you have it for many years.

    Symptoms often only become apparent when your prostate is large enough to affect the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis).

    When this happens, you may notice things like an increased need to urinate, straining while urinating and a feeling your bladder has not fully emptied.

    However, these signs do not mean you have prostate cancer. It is more likely they are caused by something else, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (also known as BPH or prostate enlargement).

    What is the prostate?

    The prostate is a small gland in the pelvis found only in men. About the size of a Satsuma, it is located between the penis and the bladder. It surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis.

    The main function of the prostate is to help in the production of semen. It produces a thick white fluid that is mixed with the sperm produced by the testicles, to create semen.

    Testicular cancer

    Although still rare compared to other cancers, testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged between 15-45 years with around 2,200-2,300 men being diagnosed each year. It is more common in Caucasian males.

    If found at an early stage a cure rate of 98% is usually possible and even when testicular cancer has spread to other areas of the body cure can still be achieved. In fact according to recent research overall 96% of men diagnosed with any stage testicular cancer will be alive 10 years after treatment.

    It is important to visit your GP as soon as you notice any lump or swelling on your testicle. Your GP will examine your testicles to help determine whether or not the lump is cancerous.

    Symptoms

    The earliest warning signs of testicular cancer usually include the following:

    • A change in size or shape of a testicle.
    • Swelling or thickening of a testicle.
    • A firm, smooth, initially painless, slow-growing lump or hardness in a testicle.
    • A feeling of testicular heaviness.

    Cancer screening

    • Bowel cancer screening

      How do I get a screening kit?

      If you are aged 60-69 years, you will be sent your screening invitation automatically through the post. All you need to do is make sure that your GP has your correct address.

      People aged 70 years and over or under the age of 60, who wish to be screened, should request a kit. Simply telephone the free helpline.

      Phone
      0800 707 6060

    • Breast screening

      The National Breast Screening Programme was introduced in 1988 as an early detection service for breast cancer. It states that all women who are aged between 50 – 70 years of age will be routinely invited for free breast screening every three years. The programme is very successful and currently saves around 1,400 lives per year.
      Breast screening aims to find breast cancer at an early stage, often before there are any symptoms. To do this, an x-ray is taken of each breast (mammogram). Early detection may often mean simpler and more successful treatment. When women are invited for their mammogram depends on which GP they are registered with, not when their birthday is.

      The screening office runs a rolling programme which invites women by area. The requirement is that all women will receive their first invitation before their 53rd birthday, but ideally when they are 50.  If you are under 50 and concerned about any aspect of breast care, please contact the surgery to make an appointment with your GP.

      Useful links
      West London Breast Screening

    • Cervical screening

      Cervical screening, or smear test, is a method of detecting abnormal (pre-cancerous) cells in the cervix in order to prevent cervical cancer. The cervix is the entrance to the womb from the vagina. Cervical screening is recommended every three years for women aged 25 to 49 and every five years for women aged 50 to 64 or more frequently if smear results indicates abnormal changes.

      Cervical screening is not a test for cancer; it is a test to check the health of the cells of the cervix. Most women’s test results show that everything is normal, but for 1 in 20 women the test will show some abnormal changes in the cells of the cervix.
      Most of these changes will not lead to cervical cancer and the cells may go back to normal on their own. However, in some cases, the abnormal cells need to be treated to prevent them becoming cancerous.

      Our nurses are qualified to carry out cervical screening and tests in the form of cervical smears. In order to have a cervical smear the patient must have received a letter requesting that they have a cervical smear and the appointment must please be made for when the patient is not menstruating.

      These appointments typically take around 15 minutes. For any further information or to book an appointment, please call the surgery.

      Useful links
      NHS Choices – Cervical Screening
      Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust