Regardless of your age, if you have a family history of bowel cancer you must consult your GP to understand your risk and discuss bowel screening methods best suited to your situation.
Your GP will most likely recommend a colonoscopy every five years starting from age 50, or ten years younger than the age of the youngest person in your family when they were diagnosed with bowel cancer.
Speak to your GP immediately.
Acting quickly when you first notice symptoms is key because if detected early, up to 99% of bowel cancer cases can be successfully treated or even prevented.
In some cases, people may not experience any bowel cancer symptoms until the cancer has become more advanced or spreads to other parts of the body. It’s important to know what’s normal for your body and when to talk to your GP. Trust Your Gut.
No matter your age, maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle can decrease your bowel cancer risk.
Download the Jodi Lee Foundation 'Guide to prevention and early detection of bowel cancer' below to find out how to BEAT bowel cancer.
Download the eBookIf you are 45-49 years, you can request a bowel screening test from your GP every two years in the lead-up to your first invitation screening test from the Australian Government at age 50. Alternatively, if you are wanting to purchase a test kit please click here.
If you are aged between 50 and 74, you will receive a FREE bowel screening test kit in the mail every two years from the Australian Government.
Complete the test and send it back as soon as possible as screening is the most effective tool for the early detection of bowel cancer.
If your test kit is damaged, expired or lost, please re-order a kit here.
No matter your age, maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle can decrease your bowel cancer risk.
Download the Jodi Lee Foundation 'Guide to prevention and early detection of bowel cancer' below to find out how to BEAT bowel cancer.
Trust Your Gut is our awareness campaign that raises awareness of bowel cancer symptoms, what they are and when to act. We are encouraging you to trust your ‘gut feeling’ when something doesn’t feel right by acting on your symptoms and talking to your GP.
Thank you for investing the time to use our symptom checker. Please share this tool with your family and friends so that together, we can save lives.
Support the cause by donating at the link below.
Take the test again.
Take the test again.
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Bowel cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death in Australia, and the leading cancer killer in 25-34 year olds – but it doesn’t have to be.
There are 15,500 Australians diagnosed with bowel cancer every year, and many are not aware of the symptoms. Acting quickly when you first notice symptoms is the key, because if detected early up to 99% of bowel cancer cases can be successfully treated.
Regardless of your age, speak to your GP immediately if you experience any of the following symptoms:
The Jodi Lee Foundation was established in 2010 in honour of Jodi Lee, who lost her life to bowel cancer at the age of 41. The Foundation empowers people to take active steps to prevent bowel cancer and live healthy lives. Every year the Jodi Lee Foundation reaches millions of Australians through our national initiatives to fight bowel cancer – one bowel screening test at a time, one awareness campaign at a time, one story at a time.
