London Marathon Raises Money for Bowel Research UK
We are immensely proud of our colorectal and peritoneal surgeon Mr Umar Shariff, who ran the London Marathon this year...
Advanced bowel cancer – also called secondary, stage 4 or metastatic bowel cancer – is cancer that has spread from the bowel to other parts in the body, such as the lungs, liver or peritoneum (which is the thin layer of tissue covering the organs in your abdomen). Rarely it can also spread to other areas, including the bones or brain.
Treatment approach
How we treat advanced bowel cancer depends on many different factors. This includes where the cancer has spread to, how many tumours there are, what size they are, and your previous cancer history. We also take into account your overall health and fitness, quality of life, how you are responding to other treatments, the overall condition of the affected organ and what side-effects you are experiencing. Treatment often involves chemotherapy or immunotherapy in combination with surgery and radiotherapy.
We believe in collaborating as a team to give each individual patient the best possible care. This means meeting regularly to discuss the treatment plan, share our expertise and insights and ensure that we provide the optimum care with the least possible risks.
Sometimes, secondary bowel cancer is curable and we will always do the best we can to achieve the best outcome. When the cancer is not curable, there is nevertheless a lot we can do to help you to live as long and as well as possible. We have nationally leading expertise in:
- Stereotactic radiotherapy. This advanced technique directs radiotherapy beams at the tumour from many different angles. The beams meet precisely at the point where the tumour is growing, which means the tissues around it receive a lower dose of the radiation because it is targeted directly at the tumour, which receives a higher dose. You normally have a series of treatments and it can be used to treat multiple tumours at the same time. It is mainly used to treat tumours in the lung, liver, lymph nodes, brain and spinal cord. Because this form of radiotherapy is so precise, it requires careful planning and you may require several diagnostic imaging scans.
- MRI-guided radiotherapy, which combines MRI imaging with radiotherapy to ensure that the tumour is targeted with pinpoint accuracy. It is the best possible way of delivering stereotactic radiotherapy to many secondary tumours, and we are the only bowel cancer clinic with access to this technology.
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Topical information about bowel cancer, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and living with cancer.
World Leaders in the Treatment of Peritoneal Malignancy
What a fantastic presentation at the Peritoneal Surface Oncology Group International conference in Venice, on 4th to 6th October 2023,...
We Attended the Peritoneal Surface Oncology Group International Meeting – Venice
Our team from the Bowel Cancer Clinic and Birmingham Peritoneal Tumour Unit attended the Peritoneal Surface Oncology group international meeting...