Bowel cancer, which includes colon and rectal cancer, is one of the most common cancers in the UK, so it’s important to know the symptoms and, for those over age 50, to take part in screening so it can be caught early.
Our Colorectal Service has clinics and teams at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Aintree University Hospital and they also work in collaboration with the Liverpool Women’s Hospital to ensure patients in our community are receiving the most suitable service for their needs.
Rachel Quinn, who is the Lead Colorectal Nurse for Liverpool University Hospitals, said: “Over the last 10 years the service has really grown, we’re now the second biggest Multidisciplinary Team in the North West, with eight nurses, four support workers, four co-ordinators as well as admin colleagues all working alongside nine consultants in the Colorectal Department.
“We’re increasingly seeing more patients and we have now developed the service so that we focus on the different parts of the bowel separately – so I specialise in anal cancer – but, we also have our main Colorectal Team, the Small Early Rectal Team, Watch and Wait Team and the Complex Pelvic Service.
“By enhancing the service in this way, it allows an improved experience for our patients throughout their journey. Nurses specialise in different areas of the bowel, so they can tailor the advice provided to patients and offer dedicated follow-up care,” said Rachel, who was presented with the Gary Logue Colorectal Cancer Nurse Award at the National Bowel Cancer UK annual awards 2025, which is for nurses who make a significant impact on people affected by bowel cancer, provide exceptional care and show outstanding initiative.
The Colorectal team have also set up the Regional Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia (RAIN) service, which is a precancerous condition where abnormal cells develop in the lining of the anus, primarily caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). Much like a cervical smear test, the team carry out an anoscopy to look for pre-cancerous changes in cells in the anal canal and identify those who are a higher risk.
“We are now working in collaboration with Liverpool Women’s Hospital and Colorectal Consultant Mr Javed, because we’ve found sometimes women who have pre-cancerous cervical/ vulval cells could also develop changes to the anal cells too. So, rather than having appointments across different hospitals, patients benefit from a joint service with just one appointment, it’s much more convenient,” said Rachel.
She added: “We’re continuously making improvements to provide an enhanced service for patients. We want every patient across the city to have the same quality service – a named nurse following you though your pathway across the bowel cancer cohort of patients. If you have any concerns or symptoms, I would urge you to contact your GP and get checked so you can get the support you need.”
Symptoms of bowel cancer can include:
- blood in your poo (stools)
- bleeding from the back passage
- a change in your normal bowel habit.