Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

There are two main parts to the bowel, the small bowel and the large bowel.

The food we eat ends up in the large bowel where water and some nutrients are absorbed leaving waste. This passes through the bowel before leaving the body.

The most common type of bowel cancer affects the large bowel, which includes the colon and the back passage. Large bowel cancer is also sometimes called colorectal cancer.

Cancer starts when something goes wrong in a cell and it starts growing uncontrollably to form a tumour.

More than 9 out of 10 people who develop bowel cancer in the UK are over the age of 50.

Your risk of developing bowel cancer may be higher if you have a strong family history of bowel cancer, or you have a genetic condition, or you gave a bowel condition such as colitis.

The good news is that more than half of all bowel cancers could be prevented through lifestyle changes.

These include stopping smoking, being physically active - at least 30 minutes exercise five times a week, keeping to a healthy weight, eating smaller and fewer portions of red and processed meat, choosing wholegrain foods and at least five portions of fruit and veg a day, and cutting down on alcohol.

The less you drink the lower the risk. If you do drink, try and stick within the government guidelines of one standard drink a day for women and two for men.

The UK has a bowel cancer screening programme for older men and women which aims to find cancer early. Those registered with a GP are sent a kit to test for bowel cancer every two years.

You can find out more information about bowel cancer screening on the Cancer Research UK website.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.