BBC Newsreader Jeremy Bowen reveals he has bowel cancer aged 59

BBC journalist Jeremy Bowen has revealed he is battling bowel cancer - despite showing no common symptoms of the disease.

The Middle East Editor, 59, is currently undergoing treatment after having surgery to remove a tumour.

Jeremy revealed the diagnosis on BBC Breakfast as he urged people not to "die of embarrassment" over getting tested.

He said: "I had funny pains in my legs and my back when I was in Iraq last May.

"I went to hospital for a couple of days but they didn't say it was cancer, they said it was scar tissue from a previous operation.

"I had no symptoms but thought I should get a test, it came back positive. I had a colonoscopy, when they put a camera on a stick up your bottom - it's not nearly as bad as it sounds, and they give you lots of drugs - from that they found a tumour.

'DON'T DIE OF EMBARRASSMENT'

"I had an operation to take it away and now I'm going through chemotherapy.

"It's not the thing you choose but I'm confident that I'm getting very good medical treatment and I'll be OK."

Jeremy also said if the cancer had been caught later, it would have been a lot more serious.

He added: "The key thing is to get tested, I've told all my friends to get to their doctors for a test.

"Bowels and poo are not the normal things people want to talk about, but actually it's part of all our lives.

"If you feel a bit embarrassed and you leave it too long - a gastroenterologist tweeted me this morning to say, 'tell them don't die of embarrassment, for god's sake'."

Jeremy, who appeared alongside Bowel Cancer UK's CEO Deborah Alsina, said he chose to go public with his battle at the start of Bowel Cancer Awareness Week to urge people to get tested.

He also talked about the chemotherapy he has undergone - revealing it isn't "nearly as bad" as he thought it would be.

He said: "I've kept quiet about it except to my nearest and dearest and friends, but I thought why not?

"And if me coming on your programme means a few extra people decide to get tested and as a result get their cancers caught, then it's time well spent.

"Actually if there is something wrong with you, it's far better to know. There's great treatment out there.

"It's more reassuring to know that something's being dealt with than thinking, 'I'll wait till next week'. Don't wait till next week!"

The journalist is now trying to "keep positive about things in life", adding: "It's all part of the journey."

2ND DEADLIEST CANCER 'CAN BE CURED'

Bowel cancer is the second deadliest form of the disease in the UK, claiming 16,000 lives every year. But it can be cured, if it's caught early enough.

Catch it at stage 1 - the earliest stage - and you have a 97 per cent chance of surviving five years or longer.

But catch it at stage 4, when it has already spread, and that chance plummets to just seven per cent.

That's why The Sun launched the No Time 2 Lose campaign last year, to urge everyone to learn the signs of bowel cancer - spearheaded by Sun columnist and stage 4 bowel cancer patient, Deborah James.

We also called for the screening age to be lowered from 60 to 50 - a move that could save up to 4,500 lives every  year.

Last summer the Government announced it would lower the screening age, marking a victory for The Sun, campaigners and patients.

Jeremy has been the BBC's Middle East Editor since 2005 after beginning his career with the broadcaster in 1984.

He has travelled to more than 70 countries as a war correspondent and was robbed at gunpoint while reporting from Kosovo during the 1999 Bosnian War.

His diagnosis comes after colleague George Alagiah's fight with the same disease in 2014.

The newsreader returned to the News At Six in January after more than a year off for treatment.