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Skip navigation WelcomePage SupportUs PatientInformation News Resources Funding Research AboutUs News Resources Top of Form Search Bottom of Form Home Cancer and research Healthy living Spot cancer early News CancerStats Public policy Teaching resources Publications You are here: Home ? News ? Search News and Press releases ? Press releases ? Poor public awareness of bowel cancer News Search News and Press releases News articles Press releases Podcasts Blog Social networks News feeds (RSS) Celebrity Noticeboard Little Star Awards Press Office Press Release Poor public awareness of bowel cancer Tuesday 23 August 2011 Cancer Research UK Press Release BRITONS have very low awareness of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer – the third most common cancer in the UK and second largest cause of cancer deaths each year, new research shows. The Cancer Research UK-funded study1, published today (Tuesday) in BMC Cancer also found that the public didn’t know that lifestyle factors like diet, weight and exercise can affect a person’s risk of developing bowel cancer. The study interviewed over 1,500 members of the British public using the Colorectal/Bowel Cancer Awareness Measure – a way of assessing awareness of cancer symptoms and risk factors.2 The results showed that on average the public could name just one symptom of bowel cancer and one risk factor. Around 110 people in the UK are diagnosed with bowel cancer every day and about 16,200 people died of the disease in 2008 in the UK. There was particularly low awareness of lumps in the abdomen and tiredness – both of which are key symptoms that could indicate a cancer is present in the bowel and important for people to be aware of. Dr Emily Power, study author, health information manager at Cancer Research UK and researcher at Cancer Research UK’s Health Behaviour Centre at UCL, said: “This study reveals that the public’s awareness of bowel cancer symptoms is still stubbornly low, particularly among olde