Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in Australia, claiming around 5,000 lives every year. The good news is that up to 90% of cases can be successfully treated, if detected early.
Jodi Lee Foundation encourages Australians to take active steps to prevent bowel cancer by being healthy and active, exploring family history, acting on symptoms and taking a screening test.
Screening tests are commonly used to detect bowel cancer. These tests range from a simple home test (faecal occult blood test) which looks for early signs of bowel cancer, to a day procedure called a colonoscopy.
Most people should commence bowel screening from age 50. But bowel cancer can affect anyone at any age.