Every Australian aged 50 or over will receive regular bowel screening kits to test for cancer and other complications, but there are now calls to make these tests available to younger people, as it turns out this isn't a condition that only affects older generations.

A growing number of women especially - including those in their 20's and 30's - are developing bowel cancer, but often don't realise until it is too late as we still wrongly think of this as an 'older person's disease'.

The Quicky speaks to two women who were diagnosed with bowel cancer in their 30's and 40's, and a specialist surgeon to find out who is at risk of bowel cancer, what symptoms to look out for, and why it seems to be increasingly common.

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CREDITS 

Host: Claire Murphy

With thanks to:

Melissa Laan - Mother-of-five who survived bowel cancer in her 30's

Stephanie Bansemer-Brown - Marketing and Publicity Manager for Bowel Cancer Australia, and Host of The Bottomline Podcast, who survived stage 3 bowel cancer after being diagnosed at the age of 42

Graham Newstead - Adjunct Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of New South Wales, Chairman of the International Council of Coloproctology, and Medical Director for Bowel Cancer Australia

Producer: Claire Murphy

Executive Producer: Siobhán Moran-McFarlane

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

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