Health: Don’t die of embarrassment

The Bowel Cancer Awareness Survey also worryingly showed that despite this, more than 92 per cent of people agreed that if bowel cancer is caught early most people survive.

Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in the UK and one of the top three common cancers diagnosed in both men and women. Over 16,250 men and women in the UK die of the disease each year.

Deborah Alsina, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK said: “It is crucial that people talk to their GP if they are worried. I can’t stress enough how important early diagnosis is. It saves lives.

“We want to encourage people to recognise the symptoms and act on them. If someone has been experiencing symptoms for at least four weeks, it is important that they make an appointment with their GP.”.

Bowel cancer however is highly treatable if caught early with nine out of ten men and women diagnosed at the earliest stage living for at least five years. Survival rates fall sharply when bowel cancer is diagnosed in the later stages of the disease.