# When to seek urgent help with bowel cancer (NHS 111 and 999)

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/urgent-help-bowel-cancer/  
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## TL;DR

Call 999 for signs of sepsis, non-stop bleeding from the bottom or large blood clots, or sudden severe tummy pain with green vomit. Ring the hospital's 24-hour line at once for a temperature outside your team's range, shivering, diarrhoea that has not settled within 24 hours, or a stoma that has stopped working. Use 111 for black or dark red poo and bloody diarrhoea.

## Summary

The wording, situation by situation. Bleeding (NHS bowel cancer symptoms page): call 999 or go to A&E if you are bleeding non-stop from your bottom, or there is a lot of blood or you see large blood clots when you poo; ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if your poo is black or dark red or you have bloody diarrhoea. Sepsis (NHS): call 999 or go to A&E for breathing very fast; confusion, slurred speech or not making sense; blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue; a very high or very low temperature, feeling hot or cold to the touch, or shivering; or a rash that does not fade when pressed. Infection on chemotherapy (Macmillan): contact the hospital straight away on the 24-hour number for a temperature outside the range your team gave you, or for feeling unwell even with a normal temperature. Stoma problems (NHS colostomy pages): ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if your temperature is very high or you feel hot, cold or shivery; if there is a lot of blood coming from your stoma or in the bag; if there are signs of dehydration; if poo has not come out of your stoma for much longer than is normal for you or you feel uncomfortable; if you have severe tummy pain; or if you are feeling sick or being sick and the vomit may be green, because these can be signs of infection or a bowel obstruction. Blockage (NHS): if less poo is coming out than usual, or the stoma stops producing poo, you may have a blockage; a blockage is serious because the bowel could burst, and you may need further surgery, so speak to your stoma nurse urgently if you have cramps, are feeling sick or notice swelling around the stoma. Diarrhoea on irinotecan (Macmillan): contact the hospital straight away on the 24-hour number if diarrhoea starts less than 24 hours after treatment, and if anti-diarrhoea drugs have not worked within 24 hours. Constipation (Macmillan): if you have not been able to pass stools for over 2 days and are being sick, contact the 24-hour number straight away. Nothing here replaces the instructions your own team gave you; their number comes first.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: bowel obstruction; bowel perforation; stoma blockage; rectal bleeding emergency
- Tags: gi; colorectal

## Sources

- NHS: bowel cancer, symptoms: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bowel-cancer/symptoms/
- NHS: sepsis: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sepsis/
- NHS: complications of a colostomy: https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/colostomy/complications-of-a-colostomy/
- Macmillan: irinotecan: https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatments-and-drugs/irinotecan
- Macmillan: sepsis: https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/sepsis
- NHS: when to use 111: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/urgent-and-emergency-care-services/when-to-use-111/
- NHS: when to call 999: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/urgent-and-emergency-care-services/when-to-call-999/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/)
- terms: [Carers: what you can do and UK carer support (bowel cancer)](https://onco.cc/terms/carers-bowel-cancer-uk/), [Febrile neutropenia](https://onco.cc/terms/febrile-neutropenia/), [Neutropenia](https://onco.cc/terms/neutropenia/), [Stoma (colostomy, ileostomy, urostomy)](https://onco.cc/terms/stoma/)

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