PEOPLE will be urged to look out for signs of bowel cancer as part of a new Government campaign called Be Clear On Cancer.
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK, with almost 40,000 new cases each year.
The disease kills more than 16,000 people in the UK annually and is linked to a range of lifestyle and genetic factors.
Eating lots of red and processed meat has been linked to a higher chance of developing bowel cancer, as has drinking more than four units of alcohol a day and obesity.
People can help cut their risk by eating healthily, exercising and taking a daily dose of aspirin on advice from their GP.
The new Government campaign, backed by press advertisements, features GPs encouraging patients to talk about changes in their stools.
Signs of bowel cancer include bleeding from the rectum, a change in toilet habits such as prolonged diarrhoea or looser stools, a straining feeling when using the toilet, weight loss and pain in the abdomen or rectum.
The pilots are backed by �1.75 million of funding and another �9 million has been earmarked for 59 regional awareness campaigns targeting bowel, breast and lung cancer.
The Government says 10,000 lives could be saved every year in the UK if cancer survival rates matched the best in Europe, including 1,700 from bowel cancer.
More than 90 per cent of people diagnosed with bowel cancer in the earliest stage survive for at least five years compared with 6.6 per cent of those diagnosed at the late stage.
Health minister Paul Burstow said: "No one likes talking about their poo – it's embarrassing.
"But if we see something different and tell our GP it could save our life.
"Early diagnosis makes a huge difference to cancer survival rates and bowel cancer is one of the biggest killers."
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