Bowel screening aims to find cancer early or to find changes in your bowel that could lead to cancer.
The screening programmes send a bowel cancer testing kit every 2 years to people who can take part. You need to be registered with a GP to receive your screening invitations. The test is called FIT – Faecal Immunochemical Test. It looks for tiny traces of blood. You do the test at home. The kit contains instructions of what to do including a prepaid envelope to send the sample to the hospital.
You should get the results within a few weeks. The letter will tell you what you need to do next. There are benefits and risks (Cancer Research UK, 2024)
Find out more about bowel screening by visiting Cancer Research UK or the NHS Bowel Screening page.
If you think you may have symptoms of bowel cancer it is important that you see your GP, do not wait until you are invited to do your screening test.
If you’re 75 or over, you can ask for a kit every 2 years by phoning the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60.