Exercise, diet and a poo test lowers risk of bowel cancer

Somehow, bowel cancer has become the most talked about cancer in the world.

- Dr Ali A Smith

It used to be breast cancer, but that has become less topical. Prostate cancer lurks around, but there aren't any good answers to any of the demands for screening and so it slopes back into the shadows.

It might be because of the celebrity profiles of bowel cancer sufferers. The agonising death of Bowel Babe - Deborah James - might be some of the reason. But it seems more than that. The increasing rates of bowel cancer are notable. Equally there is now a screening programme and so people get a practical alert to bowel cancer through the post.

Let's cover off some of the simple stuff to begin. Bowel cancer is relatively rare, but it does increase in risk as you get older. Most people who will get bowel cancer will present when they are aged over 50. That's why the bowel cancer screening programme only sends kits out to people who are over the age of 50.

The main symptoms of bowel cancer are blood appearing in poo and changes in bowel habit. Often constipation. Screening people is achieved by testing poo samples for blood. It’s a simple and effective test. There are tests that follow the poo test, but the basic screen is very easy.