Screening programme

Bowel screening aims to detect bowel cancer at an early stage, before people are experiencing any symptoms, and when treatment is more likely to be effective. Bowel screening can also detect bleeding polyps, which are not cancerous, but may develop into cancer in the future. The polyps can be removed, reducing the risk of bowel cancer developing.

The method used to screen for bowel cancer is an FOB (faecal occult blood) test which detects blood hidden in the faeces (stool).

An FOB test does not diagnose bowel cancer but indicates if further investigations are needed.

Regular screening has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from bowel cancer by 16%.

Bowel cancer affects 35,600 people every year – men and women of all ages – and claims almost 50 lives every day. BUT if bowel cancer is caught early and treated successfully, it is completely curable. Don’t delay! If you have been invited to take part in bowel cancer screening, make sure you do it. It could save your life.

Screening test kits are sent out to people in the target age group, to complete the test in the privacy of their own home. Over a period of 3 days, small samples of faeces (stool) (from a container or toilet paper) are smeared on the test kit using a piece of card after you use the toilet. The test kit is then posted back to a laboratory when a chemical is added to the samples on the card to check for blood.

If the test is positive, you and your GP will be notified of the result and you will be asked to undertake a further investigation.

Around 98 in 100 people will test ‘normal’ and will be asked to undertake a further test in 2 years if they are still within the eligible age range.

Around 2 in 100 people will test ‘abnormal’ and will be referred for further investigations.

Of these, around 4 in 100 people may initially test ‘unclear’ which means a slight suggestion of blood in the test sample and will be asked to repeat the test. Most people who repeat the test receive a ‘normal’ result.

If your test results indicate that you should have further investigation, you will be invited to attend a clinic at the hospital.

If you don’t qualify for screening due to your age, you might like to consider a private screening service. Please refer to our booklet ‘Bowel Cancer Screening – Your Choices’ for further information.  You can order a screening kit online from Point Of Care Testing Ltd (cost £19.98).

If you want to be screened because you have symptoms, talk to your GP.

England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland – each have a different strategy for bowel cancer screening:

The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is offered every two years to everyone (registered with a GP) in England aged 60 to 74. People over 75 can request a screening kit by calling the freephone helpline below.

More information is available from www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk or call 0800 707 60 60.

The Bowel Screening Wales programme was launched in October 2008 and is offered every two years to everyone (registered with a GP) in Wales aged 60 to 69.

By the end of 2009 all people who are aged between 60 and 69 and resident in Wales with a birthday before the 1st August will have been invited for screening. During 2010 invitations will be sent to people aged between 60 and 69 years of age with birthdays between August and December. By 2015, the programme will be extended to everyone aged between 50 and 74 for screening.

More information is available from: www.wales.nhs.uk/bsw or call 0800 294 3370.

The Scottish Bowel Screening Programme is offered every two years to everyone (registered with a GP) in Scotland between the ages of 50 to 74.

More information is available from www.bowelscreening.scot.nhs.uk or call 0800 0121 833.

The bowel cancer screening programme for Northern Ireland has now been launched and will be phased in, beginning immediately with people in the Northern and Western Health and Social Care Trust areas. It is anticipated that those registered with a GP in the South Eastern Trust area will be invited to participate from May 2010.

Further details on confirmed start dates and arrangements for the Belfast and Southern Trusts will be provided over the coming weeks.

Screening will initially be offered to men and women aged 60-69 years only and the programme will not be able to supply screening kits to people outside this target age group. Full information on the programme will soon be available at www.cancerscreening.hscni.net or call  0800 015 2514.

Preparations are underway for roll out the bowel screening programme in Ireland. Phase one of the programme (60-69 age group) is to be introduced in 2012.

More information is available from www.cancerscreening.ie or call 353 1 865 9300.