I've made sure my family has eaten plenty of high-fibre cereal and wholemeal bread for the past 35 years, since research first showed how fibre may help protect against bowel cancer.
Experts estimate that almost half of the 36,500 bowel cancer cases diagnosed in the UK each year could be prevented if people ate more healthily, did more exercise and didn't put on too much weight.
While there's less we can do about some of the other risks, including ageing and genes, there's a lot we can do to help catch the disease early if we do get it.
At the earliest stage, the chance of survival is 80%. If every case were diagnosed then, nearly 13,000 lives a year would be saved.
That's why I'm in favour of Bowel Cancer UK's new Check It campaign, starting in April, which is awareness month for the disease.
The campaign tells you what to look for, how to reduce your risk and why the new NHS screening programme is so important.
Who can be screened?
I have regular bowel cancer screening myself (my last one, three months ago, was thankfully clear), and I'd like to see the NHS offer it to everyone from the age of 50.
Right now the screening programme is still being rolled out over the UK.
If you live in England or Wales, expect to be invited if you're between 60 and 69 - in England you can request a test if you're 70-plus when screening reaches your area. In Scotland, screening will cover those aged 50 to 74.
In Northern Ireland the programme begins at the end of the year.
You need to be registered with a GP to be invited, so don't miss out.
What the tests involve
A simple test with instructions is sent to you in the post. All you have to do is send stool samples to a lab, as instructed, where they're tested for hidden blood.
If it's found, you'll be called for further investigation but don't panic - blood in stools can be a sign of lots of conditions, including piles, and nine out of 10 people who test positive won't have cancer.
The other test is called a colonoscopy and involves a doctor inserting a fine tube with a tiny camera and a light into your back passage.
It's not as daunting as it sounds - the tube is very thin and you're under sedation at the time.
Besides cancer, the doctor is also looking for growths, known as polyps, which can eventually turn cancerous if left.
This is only offered on the NHS if you have suspicious symptoms or you're at high risk of bowel cancer, but I know specialists who routinely take this test every five years and, in an ideal world, I believe it would be available to everyone over 50.
Checking for and removing polyps routinely would go a long way to preventing bowel cancer - just as the cervical screening programme checks for abnormal cells on the cervix, which could turn cancerous.
Ask the doctor
See your GP if you have any of these symptoms:
/ A change in bowel habits lasting four weeks or more.
/ Your bottom is bleeding or you notice blood in your stools.
/ Feeling unusually tired for no apparent reason.
/ A pain and/or a lump in the right side of your tummy or back passage.
/ You've lost weight without trying.
Bear in mind that these symptoms are often due to less serious conditions but it's as well to get them checked out.
Seven proven ways to lower your risk
(1) Fill up on fibre
This means five fruit and veg a day, wholemeal bread, whole grain cereals like porridge or muesli and brown rice and pasta.
One theory is that fibre helps waste travel through the bowel, reducing the time that any cancer-causing agents spend in the body.
I always eat my vegetables first so I make sure I get a healthy dose of fibre.
(2) Don't go mad on meat
Eating lots of red meat like lamb and beef, and processed meat like bacon and ham, is linked to a high risk. I limit it to a couple of times a week.
(3) Eat plenty of fish
People who eat fish at least every other day have been found to lower their risk by about a third compared to those who just eat it once a fortnight.
(4) Keep weight under control
At least one in 10 cancers of the colon are thought to be related to being overweight.
(5) Work out
Couch potatoes are twice as likely as regular exercisers to get bowel cancer, regardless of diet, smoking and weight.
(6) Call last orders
People who drink more than four alcohol units a day (two pints of standard beer/two small glasses of wine/two double spirits) have a raised risk.
(7) Stop smoking
Smokers are more likely to develop bowel polyps, a major risk factor.
/ Call the Bowel Cancer Advisory Service on 0800 8403540 or visit www.checkit.org.uk.
To make a donation to Bowel Cancer UK, call 020 7381 9711.
CASE STUDY: "I wish I'd seen my doctor earlier"
Jackie Gibson, 43, has now recovered from bowel cancer after being diagnosed three years ago. She's married to Patrick, 44, and lives in Hertfordshire.
I'd had irritable bowel syndrome, with pain and bloating, for about 10 years, then at the start of 2005 it got worse and I noticed blood when I went the loo. But I thought it was piles so I put off seeing the doctor.
Towards the end of the year, my GP referred me for tests and within two weeks I was diagnosed with bowel cancer.
I was devastated. As a young and fit non-smoker with a good diet, I was totally the wrong profile for bowel cancer. I needed various operations and a combination of chemo and radiotherapy, which sent me into an early menopause. The treatment lasted a year and was physically and emotionally exhausting.
Thankfully, I'm now cancer-free, back at work and enjoying life again. But I'd urge anyone with bowel symptoms to see their doctor immediately - the earlier you're diagnosed, the less drastic the treatment.
If I'd gone earlier, I may not have had to go through an early menopause. Don't be embarrassed. After all, the doctor has bowels too!
Be risk aware
You have a higher risk of bowel cancer if:
/ You've had it already.
/ You have bowel polyps (small growths) in the bowel lining, though you wouldn't necessarily know this.
/ You're over 50.
/ You have one or more close relatives who have had bowel cancer before 45, or two close relatives who've had it at any age. Ask your GP's advice on whether you should
have screening earlier. However, genes only account for a small proportion of cancers.
/ You have type 2 diabetes or bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease.