Colorectal Cancer

Key Staff

Surgeons

Mr Mohamed, Lead Colorectal surgeon
Mr Abulafi, Colorectal Surgeon
Mr Shanmuganandan, Colorectal Surgeon
Miss Shaw, Colorectal Surgeon
Mr Kamel, Colorectal Surgeon

Nursing and support team

Jo Turner-Banton, Nurse Consultant
Giorgia Murtas, Colorectal Cancer CNS
Tanisha Davis, Enhanced Recovery CNS
Sharon Patel, Macmillan Support Officer

Monday-Friday 8.00 - 17.00

Tel : 020 8401 3000 Ext 5723 Email: ch-tr.colorectalnursingteam@nhs.net

Triage Assessment Team

Ana Silvestre, CNS
Jaime Loveleen, CNS
Mira Sencio, CNS

Admin

Ava Deans, Administrative Support Officer
Tom Lewis, Patient Pathway Navigator

Monday-Friday 8.00 - 17.00

Tel : 020 8401 3000 Ext 4884 Email: ch-tr.2wwgitelephonetriage@nhs.net

Your Colorectal Nursing Team

About Colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer also known as bowel cancer is a cancer that is found anywhere in the large bowel, which includes the colon and rectum.

The large bowel is part of your digestive system. It helps absorb water from your food and removes food waste from your body.

How serious bowel cancer is depends on how big the cancer is, if the cancer has spread, and your general health.

Bowel cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the UK.

Bowel cancer screening can pick up bowel cancer early, which may mean it's easier to treat

What are the tests to confirm the diagnosis?

If a GP refers you to a specialist because they think you could have bowel cancer, you'll have tests to check for cancer.

This information sheet Patient information for urgent referrals for suspected bowel cancer explains why your GP has referred you urgently to hospital and what you need to do.

Also available in: Arabic ; Bengali ; Bengali (Sylheti) ; Gujarati ; Polish ; Portuguese ; Punjabi ; Romanian ; Spanish ; Tamil ; Turkish ; Urdu

The Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) for symptomatic patients information leaflet has been developed by the Transforming Cancer Services Team in collaboration with patient representatives. The leaflet is for symptomatic patients who have been asked to complete a FIT because of a suspicion of cancer.

Also available in Arabic , Bengali , Chinese (simplified), English , Gujarati , Hindi , Polish , Punjabi , Somali , Turkish and Urdu

The main test for bowel cancer is a colonoscopy . This is where a thin, flexible, tube with a camera is used to look inside your bowel.

It may be uncomfortable but it should not be painful. You'll be offered a sedative and painkillers to help make you feel more comfortable. During the colonoscopy, a small sample of the lining of your bowel may be taken for testing (called a biopsy)

If you've been told you have bowel cancer, you may need more tests which can include:

The results of these tests can show the stage/extend of your cancer, and if the cancer has been caused by certain changes in your genes.

This will also help your specialist team decide what treatment you need.

YourPathway_BowelCancerUK

Your Results Explained

Having Colorectal Surgery

What treatment are available?

The treatment you'll have for bowel cancer depends on:

The size of the cancer
If the cancer is in your colon or rectum, or both
If it has spread to other parts of your body
If the cancer has certain genetic changes
Your age and general health

You may be offered a combination of treatments including surgery , chemotherapy , radiotherapy , immunotherapy and targeted medicines . Treatments are offered in collaboration with the Royal Marsden Hospital and other specialist Trusts.

Your specialist treatment team will:

Explain the treatments, the benefits and side effects
Work with you to make a treatment plan that's best for you
Help you to manage the side effects of treatment

If you have any questions or worries, you can talk to your specialist team.

Macmillan information: Making treatment decisions

Macmillan information: A - Z treatments - drugs

Macmillan information: After Treatment

Managing the late effects of bowel cancer treatment (PDF)

Personalised Cancer Care

Personalised cancer care allows you to take an active role in the way your care is planned and delivered by identifying your concerns and support needs. It puts you in control of your care, with help from your specialist cancer team.

There are lots of things you can do to look after your own health during and after cancer treatment. Some of this can be done without the involvement of your clinical team, such as physical activity and healthy eating.

Here are the key elements of personalised care for our cancer patients:

Personalised Assessment and Care Planning
Access to health and wellbeing information and support
End of treatment summaries to support you with understanding and managing impacts of cancer—also shared with your GP so they can also support you.
Stratified Follow up when you have finished treatment or are living with cancer.