George Alagiah: Three main bowel cancer symptoms after BBC newsreader's tragic death

BBC journalist George Alagiah has died at the age of 67, almost a decade after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. He was first diagnosed with stage four (advanced) bowel cancer in 2014 and by the age of 66, it had spread to his lungs, liver, spine and lymph nodes.

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and leads to around 16,800 deaths every year. More than nine out of 10 cases of bowel cancer develop in older adults over the age of 50, and nearly six in 10 are in people aged 70 or older.

Charity Bowel Cancer UK explained how cancer develops when cells in the body change and grow in an uncontrolled way: "Most bowel cancers develop from pre-cancerous growths, called polyps.

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"But not all polyps develop into cancer. If your doctor finds any polyps, they can remove them to prevent them becoming cancerous. Cancer cells may stay in the bowel or they might spread to other parts of the body, like the liver or lungs."

The three main symptoms of bowel cancer are:

A loss of appetite may also occur, or somebody may suffer significant, unintentional weight loss. Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason could also be a symptom.

Bowel Cancer UK said of the symptoms: "It's important to know that most people with these symptoms don't have bowel cancer. Other health problems can cause similar symptoms. But if you have any of these, or if things just don't feel right, go to see your GP.

"Knowing the symptoms and acting on them as quickly as possible could mean that if you do have bowel cancer, it may be diagnosed earlier when it's much easier to treat... Don't be embarrassed and don't ignore any symptoms. Doctors