Bowel Cancer Awareness Month April 2024

Blog - 27 March 2024

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, a fantastic annual opportunity to raise awareness of bowel cancer. The earlier bowel cancer is spotted, the more treatable it’s likely to be. In fact, more than 9 in 10 people survive bowel cancer when it is diagnosed at the earliest stage.
Lady sitting on a toilet

Bowel cancer is a common type of cancer in both men and women. About 1 in 20 people will get it during their lifetime. It’s the fourth most common type of cancer, with most people being diagnosed aged over 60. Screening can help find it at an early stage when it’s easier to treat.

Everyone aged 60 to 74 (and those who are 56 years old) who are registered with a GP and live in England are automatically sent a bowel cancer home screening kit every two years. The NHS has the ambition to move toward everyone aged over 50 in the next few years.

Bowel Cancer website

Some of the common symptoms of bowel cancer include:

  • Bleeding from the bottom and blood in poo
  • Persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit
  • Sudden and unexplained weight loss
  • Being easily fatigued with no obvious reason or cause
  • Pain or a lump in the tummy

If you have any of these symptoms, it’s important to ask your GP for an at-home test as soon as you can.

Video: Using your NHS bowel cancer screening FIT kit

Note: Constipation, where you pass harder stools less often, is rarely caused by serious bowel conditions.

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