June is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month. Bowel Cancer New Zealand's Move your Butt campaign encourages all Kiwis (young or old, fit or unfit) to get off their butts in June and challenge themselves to move more - as exercising and eating well are proven to help beat bowel cancer.

The challenge does not need to be extreme like running a marathon. It simply means challenging yourself to exercise more than you usually do!

Bowel Cancer New Zealand general manager Rebekah Heal says, “No one likes to talk about bowel cancer, yet it kills as many New Zealanders as breast and prostate cancer combined. 100 Kiwis will die and a further 250 will be diagnosed in June alone. It’s a national emergency and it’s important that New Zealanders are aware of the signs and symptoms and - most importantly - how to prevent it.”

“We are aiming to get all Kiwis off the couch and moving more this June – even if it’s just a 10-minute walk a day. Everyone who takes part will be helping themselves prevent bowel cancer. They can raise valuable funds to beat this silent killer by getting their friends and family to sponsor them.”

Sign up or find out more about the Move Your Butt challenge to help more New Zealanders beat bowel cancer.

Find easy ways to move more during your day.

Bowel cancer – also known as colorectal cancer or colon cancer – is any cancer that affects the colon (large bowel) and rectum (back passage).

Most bowel cancers start as benign innocent growths (polyps) on the wall of the bowel. Polyps are like small spots or cherries on stalks and most do not produce symptoms. Polyps are common as we get older and most polyps are not pre-cancerous.

The earlier bowel cancer is caught, the easier it is to treat. 75 percent of bowel cancer is curable if caught early.

You can lower your risk of bowel cancer by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. It is recommended that you should aim to engage in 30 minutes or more of physical activity everyday - in any way - to help reduce the risk of cancer.

Find out more about bowel cancer, including signs and symptoms.