Bowel Screening
Who is eligible?
- If you are between 60 and 74, you will be invited every two years to take part in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.
- If you are aged 74 or over, you can ask for a free screening kit
Why take the test?
- About one in 20 people in the UK will develop bowel cancer during their lifetime. Bowel cancer screening can detect bowel cancer at an early stage (in people with no symptoms), when treatment is more likely to be effective.
- The screening test detects tiny amounts of blood, which you cannot normally see, in your bowel motions. The test does not diagnose bowel cancer, but the results will tell you whether you need an examination of your bowel (a colonoscopy).
- You carry out the test in the privacy of your own home and send it to a laboratory for testing (by Freepost).
- Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK. Taking part in bowel cancer screening reduces your risk of dying from bowel cancer.
Leaflets and audio and video resources
Bowel Cancer Screening – The Facts
Audio and video resources
Useful websites
NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme – national information
NHS Direct
Charities
Beating Bowel Cancer
Bowel Cancer UK
CRUK – Cancer Research UK
MacMillan Cancer Support