Bowel Cancer Awareness: Signs, Symptoms and Screening
April marks Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, an opportunity to raise awareness of bowel cancer – one of the UK’s most common cancers. Almost 44,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year in the UK, with 1 in 17 men and 1 in 20 women expected to be diagnosed with it in their lifetime.
Across Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire, over 4,400 bowel (including colon and rectal) cancers were diagnosed between December 2024 and November 2025 – yet only 49% of these were diagnosed at an early stage (1 or 2), when it is easiest to treat. Nearly everyone diagnosed with bowel cancer at Stage 1 will survive, but the survival rate drops significantly the later the disease is caught, which is why early diagnosis is so vital.
National screening programme
Over 90% of new cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed in people over the age of 50, which is why the national Bowel Cancer Screening programme is offered to everyone between the age of 50 and 74. In 2019, the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) is a simple home test kit that was introduced to check for early signs of bowel cancer by testing for blood in your poo. It can detect tiny traces before obvious symptoms appear. The simple test is sent to everyone between 50 – 74 (if registered with a GP) every two years, and involves collecting a small sample of poo and sending it off by post, with results often received within two weeks.
Most people who do their bowel cancer screening test (97 or 998 out of 100) do not need any further tests. If your screening does flag the need for further tests, you will be called in to see your GP and you may need to have a colonoscopy. Only 7 to 10 in 100 people who have a colonoscopy are diagnosed with bowel cancer.
How to use your Bowel Cancer Screening Kit videos (including translated and BSL versions)
More information on Bowel Cancer Screening
Signs and Symptoms
Some possible symptoms of bowel cancer include:
- changes in poo, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is not usual
- needing to poo more or less often than usual
- blood in poo which may look red or black
- bleeding from the bottom
- often feeling the need to poo even if just been to the toilet
- tummy pain
- a lump in the tummy
- bloating
- losing weight without trying
- feeling very tired or short of breath – these are signs of anaemia, which can be caused by bowel cancer
If you have had any of these symptoms for three weeks or more, you should see your GP. Having these symptoms does not mean you definitely have bowel cancer, but it is important to get checked by your GP.
Download a poster from Bowel Cancer UK
Spread awareness and encourage early detection
This April, we are asking all of our partners, from NHS teams to community and charity organisations to spread the word about Bowel Cancer awareness and screening. By encouraging people to know what to look for and to complete their screening tests, we can help more people in our region get diagnosed earlier, when treatment is most effective.
If you have a local story to share about bowel cancer, screening, or early diagnosis – please do get in touch with us at swagca@nbt.nhs.uk.
Download our SWAG Cancer Alliance Bowel Cancer Awareness Month Communications toolkit
