Bowel & Cancer Research - Changing Lives

Changing Lives

Bowel & Cancer Research's vision is that no one should die of bowel cancer or be compelled to live with a stoma (colostomy or ileostomy).

In pursuit of this vision Bowel & Cancer Research has established two programmes:

1. Saving Lives: improving survival rates for bowel cancer sufferers through pioneering research into the spread and behaviour of cancer in specific at risk populations.

2. Changing Lives: investigating the causes, effects and treatment of bowel disorders other than cancer which are currently poorly understood and, through pioneering innovations in surgery and allied therapies, improve the quality of life of patients. In particular we aim to eliminate the need for patients to rely upon a stoma.

Bowel & Cancer Research (B&CR) focuses on translational research to foster a direct link between clinically relevant studies and improvements in treatments for patients, in contrast with more basic scientific research concentrating upon understanding disease processes. Translational research transfers the lessons learnt at the laboratory bench directly to the operating theatre or the patient bedside in the form of new diagnostic techniques or treatments. However, this type of research is both costly and time consuming due to the stringent ethical and legal monitoring which governs studies involving tissue taken from patients - or indeed the patients themselves - in the case of surgical innovations.