Bowel cancer has long been considered an affliction of older people, but this perception is slowly changing as growing numbers of those under 50 receive a diagnosis.A cancer survivor named Bronwyn was just 26 when she received her shock diagnosis, prompting her to help others avoid her fate.In a recent clip shared to TikTok, she explained she had no family history of the disease and was otherwise in good health when doctors gave her the bad news.“There are some signs and symptoms that I wish I had known about being diagnosed, because maybe then I would have pushed my GP further,” she added.Bronwyn reminded viewers that you are never too young to get cancer | TIKTOK“You are never too young to get bowel cancer. Bowel cancer is on the rise in people under the age of 50, which is quite scary, and there are over 42,000 people who are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year.”Looking back, Bronwyn wishes she had been more aware of the red flags that could have led her to an earlier diagnosis.“So the main symptoms to look for are blood in your poo, or blood when you wipe your bum, a change in your bowel habits like going more frequently or going less frequently,” she shared, noting that bloating and unexplained tiredness should never be ignored.One key warning sign that particularly caught the mum-of-two by surprise is a change in the shape of the bowel movements themselves.“The one I was not aware of is a change in your poo’s shape. Long, thin, pen poos can also be a sign of bowel cancer.“Obviously, if you feel like something is off, go and see your GP. If you’ve got any of the signs or symptoms, go and see your GP. If they persist, go and see your GP, go back and see your GP.”For anyone over 50 who receives free screening kits through the post, Bronwyn strongly recommends using them. “The number of over-50s that I’ve met who were simply diagnosed just by doing their fit test, and they didn’t realise that anything was wrong, is really scary,” she explained.”I feel like the age of the fit tests should be lowered to at least 30, because it’s scary the amount of young people who are being diagnosed at the later stages.”She also stressed the importance of early detection in bowel cancer, noting that those who spot the disease in its infancy have the greatest chance of remission. “If you have stage 1 bowel cancer, you have a 90 per cent chance of survival,” she added. “So please please please let this be your sign that if you have blood in your poo, go and see your GP.”Bowel cancer has high survival rates in the initial stages | TIKTOKBowel Cancer UK reiterates how important it is to see a GP if you notice any unusual body changes, even if you have just one symptom. The health charity also highlights that no two cases of the disease are the same, as individuals may get different symptoms at different times.