Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in Australia but health experts say it's been given the lowest priority by policy makers.
Mother-of-four Amanda Ashton was diagnosed with bowel cancer two years ago.
The 36-year-old told SBS there was a stigma attached to the cancer and she had felt isolated and unsupported after her diagnosis.
"It was almost like something that older people have," she said. “Almost a bit like an embarrassed cancer."
Leading surgeon Chip Farmer agreed.
"Unlike breast or prostate cancer, which is a little easier these days to speak about in the public arena, bowel cancer is not really coffee conversation or barbecue conversation. It's more of a barbecue stopper really,” he said.
A national survey has found four out of five bowel cancer patients feel the general public don’t understand their condition with most believing there's an unwillingness to discuss it because it's considered "dirty".
But with 14,000 Australians diagnosed each year, it's a cancer health experts say must come out of the shadows.
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