Kingston Hospital offers a comprehensive diagnostic service for bowel cancer.

About us

Bowel cancer is the general name for cancer of the colon, rectum or anus. Lower Gastrointestinal (GI) or colorectal cancer are other names for cancer of the bowel.

You might have been referred to us by your GP, hospital doctor, bowel cancer screening, or by the one stop clinic at St George’s Hospital.

Investigations can include specific blood tests, colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy, CT and/or MRI scans.

Your care will be provided by a group of experts called a multidisciplinary team (MDT). This is a team of doctors, nurses and other health professionals specialising in treating your type of cancer.

The weekly colorectal multidisciplinary team meeting will then review your results and recommend a treatment plan, and you will be invited to a clinic appointment to discuss your test results and treatment options.

Our team includes:

  • Consultant colorectal surgeons
  • Consultant oncologists
  • Colorectal cancer clinical nurse specialists
  • Stoma nurse and stoma support worker

Treatments for colorectal (lower GI) cancer include surgery, systemic therapy and radiotherapy or a combination of these treatments.

  • Surgery is carried out at Kingston Hospital
  • Systemic therapy, also known as chemotherapy, is delivered by the Royal Marsden in Sir William Rous Unit at Kingston Hospital
  • Radiotherapy is provided at the Royal Marsden in Sutton or Chelsea

We may ask you attend neighbouring hospitals for more specialist tests, such as a PET scan at the Royal Marsden Hospital.

What to expect at your outpatient appointment

You will see one of our consultants or another member of the colorectal team. If, at this first visit, we think it’s likely you have cancer, we aim for you to also see the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) who will be your key worker.

The CNS will give you written information about the type of cancer you have and an information pack that will include our contact details.

You can discuss your care and ask any questions you have about your treatment - please see a short video below where a CNS provides more information:

Support and advice

We want to make sure that you get all the assistance you need to live well with, and after, cancer. There’s a wide range of support available to help you cope with cancer, including physical, emotional and practical advice for you, your family, friends and carers.

If you care for someone with cancer, please see our caring for someone with cancer webpage for more information.

Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA)

If you have cancer, you often need care, support and information above and beyond the management of your condition. At a holistic needs assessment, a doctor or nurse will discuss your physical, emotional and social needs. It’s about you as a whole, not just your illness.

This is a chance for you to share as much as you want about your worries and concerns. It will help us to clarify your needs and make sure you are referred to the relevant services.

It’s not compulsory, and if you decide not to have an HNA it won’t affect your care. But many patients find it useful because it identifies what help is available – and the doctor or nurse carrying it out can refer you to other services. An HNA may be offered:

  • around the time of diagnosis or start of treatment
  • when surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy has been completed
  • any time a patient asks for one

 

Further support