This is cancer of the rectum, the final straight section of the large intestine. The terms ‘bowel cancer’, or ‘colorectal cancer’, include both cancer of the rectum and cancer of the colon.

See also Map 7 All cancer deaths, and Map 79 Colon cancer.

Rates are very different either side of a line drawn from the north of the Severn to the Wash. North of the line, rates are higher, with a noticeable cluster in east Glasgow. Rates are lower south of the line. The map reflects affluence and hence eating habits.

The rectum is part of the digestive system. Symptoms of rectal cancer are often noticing a change in bowel habits or blood in the stools. It is uncommon before the age of 40. There are three main types: ring growths around the bowel, growths that protrude into the bowel and growths that eat into the wall of the bowel. Rectal cancer is treated surgically and requires creating a temporary or permanent artificial opening for the bowel in the abdomen, called a colostomy. Dietary factors are thought to cause most bowel cancers. It is thought that the risks can be reduced by eating a diet with lots of green vegetables, low in red meat (and avoiding burnt meat), keeping a normal body weight and taking regular exercise.

Actress Audrey Hepburn, former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Pope John Paul II, footballer Bobby Moore and Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts, all had colorectal cancer.