Bowel cancer is one of the most types of cancer to be diagnosed in the UK, according to the NHS.
It’s the name given to any type of cancer that starts in the large bowel, and may sometimes be known as colon or rectal cancer.
You could lower your risk of deadly bowel cancer by making some diet or lifestyle swaps.
One of the best ways to slash your chances of the disease is to cut back not the amount of red or processed meat in your diet.
There is strong evidence that eating a lot of red meat increases the risk of bowel cancer, according to charity Bowel Cancer UK.
You don’t need to cut out red meat altogether, but try to eat less than 500g in a single week, it said.
“Red meat is a good source of protein but you can also get protein from many other foods such as fish, poultry, beans, lentils, tofu and eggs,” said the charity.
“You could try using chickpeas or beans to replace some or all of the meat in bolognese or chilli recipes.”
You could also lower your chances of bowel cancer by regularly eating fibre, it said.
Fibre helps to keep things moving through the digestive system while also helping you to feel fuller for longer.
Everyone should try to eat at least 30g of fibre every single day.
“As well as containing fibre, vegetables and fruit may also help to protect against bowel cancer because they contain antioxidants, which are substances that help to delay or prevent cell damage.
“If you want to increase the amount of fibre in your diet, you should do so slowly, especially nuts and beans.”
Everyone should also aim to drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration, said Bowel Cancer UK.
It’s crucial that you drink between 1.6 and two litres of fluid every day – the equivalent to around six to eight glasses.
“Avoid sugary drinks such as cola, lemonade, fruit squash with added sugar and fruit juices [one small glass of fruit juice per day is enough].”
Bowel cancer can be difficult to spot as the symptoms tend to be quite subtle, and don’t necessarily make you feel unwell.
Common bowel cancer symptoms include a persistent change in your bowel habits, including passing more stools than normal, or having looser stools than normal.
Finding blood in your stool, or having unexplained stomach pain could also be caused by the disease.
If you have one or more bowel cancer symptoms, and they last longer than four weeks, you should speak to a GP.
More than 40,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK.