It is worrying to know that symptoms of bowel cancer are not known to more than half of men in the UK.

In the UK alone, one out of 18 people get affected by bowel cancer and it is the second biggest cancer killer of UK that is actually due to lack of awareness about this disease, according to charity, Beating Bowel Cancer.

Being unaware about the disease was seen among 52 per cent of men and about a quarter of women in the UK, in an independent research commissioned by the charity to mark Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, and about 32 per cent of people could state few symptoms of the disease.

Mark Flannagan, Chief Executive of Beating Bowel Cancer said, "Bowel cancer claims a life every 30 minutes, so it's very worrying that 4 in 10 people, 40 per cent, claim not to know any of the symptoms."

It was added that in this country about 3200 people in April will be diagnosed with bowel cancer and deaths that will occur from it will be about 1350. And the main reason for this will be late diagnosis.

National Clinical Director for Cancer, Professor Mike Richards said that it is late diagnosis of this disease that has led to cancer survival rates in the UK lag behind as compared to other countries.