The number of people diagnosed with bowel cancer is increasing, particularly among the young, latest research shows.
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A report from Bowel Cancer Australia also shows the Hunter has a higher rate of deaths than the NSW average.
Gastro-intestinal cancer research group GI CANCER Institute said the number of Australians diagnosed with cancer each year was rising.
Its new Bowel Cancer report quotes the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare statistics, which report 14,234 diagnoses in 2007, double the number in 1982.
Bowel Cancer Australia, also using institute data, reported a 64per cent increase in incidence in people aged 20 to 34.
The charity’s Bowel Cancer Atlas of Australia shows most areas of the Hunter have higher death rates than the NSW average.
Cessnock was worst placed with a rate of 31 per 100,000 population, compared with the NSW average of 19.1 per 100,000.
Sancha Robinson, of Warabrook, received the shocking news that she had bowel cancer in October after feeling a lump in her belly following weight loss.
She was 31 and had just had her first baby, daughter Tarryn, eight months earlier.
Dr Robinson had surgery and chemotherapy and a recent check showed no recurrence of cancer.
The anaesthetics registrar is back at work and said her colleagues and employer, the Hunter New England Local Health Network, had offered her great support.
‘‘I wanted people to know that bowel cancer isn’t just a disease for old men,’’ Dr Robinson said.
‘‘It’s important that other people know just because you’re young doesn’t mean you can’t have bowel cancer.’’
