Bowel cancer screening
Bowel screening aims to find cancer early or to find changes in your bowel that could lead to cancer.
How often do you have it?People who can take part receive a bowel cancer testing kit every 2 years through the post. This kit comes from one of the National screening programmes in the UK. You need to be registered with a GP to receive your screening invitations.
How do you do it?The test is called FIT - Faecal Immunochemical Test. It looks for tiny traces of blood. You do the test at home. It is clean and simple. The kit contains instructions of what to do including a specially designed prepaid envelope to send the sample back.
When will I get my results?You should get the results within a few weeks. The letter will tell you what you need to do next.
Benefits and risksAll cancer screening has both possible benefits (pros) and risks (cons). It’s important to read the information that comes with your screening invitation. It can help you decide whether you want to take part.
What is screening?
For screening to be useful the tests need to:
- be reliable at picking up cancers or abnormalities that could lead to cancer
- do more good than harm to people taking part
- be something that people are willing to do
Screening tests are not perfect and have some risks. The screening programme should also be good value for money for the NHS.
Who can have bowel screening?
The screening programmes send a bowel cancer testing kit every 2 years to people eligible to take part. You need to be registered with a GP to receive your screening invitations.
There are separate bowel screening programmes for the different countries in the UK.
In England, you receive a bowel cancer screening kit if you're aged between 54 and 74 years. Some people may now receive a test if they are over 50. This is because NHS England is gradually expanding this programme to also invite people aged between 50 and 59.
People aged 75 and over can request a screening kit every 2 years by contacting the bowel cancer screening programme on 0800 707 6060.
You can watch a short video about how to do your bowel cancer screening test on the test section below.
In Wales, bowel cancer screening is for people aged between 50 and 74 years. It used to be from age 51. Public Health Wales is now expanding their programme. All people aged 50 will be gradually invited over a 10 month period from October 2024 to June 2025.
You can watch a video about how to do the screening test in Wales. The video is about 1 minute long.
When it’s time to do your bowel cancer screening test you’ll get a kit through the post.
It can spot the early signs of bowel cancer and it saves lives.
In the kit there’s a small stick which is used to collect a sample of poo. The lab checks for any traces of blood in the poo which is sometimes a sign of cancer.
On the day you do the test write the date on the tube. To take the sample you’ll need to put a plastic tub and a few layers of toilet paper into the toilet, to catch the poo. And then you just… do your business.
Then using the stick from the kit scrape a bit of poo onto the end of the stick making sure the two grooves are covered. Put the stick back into the tube and twist the lid until it closes.
The tube goes into the envelope provided and into the post. Be sure to send it back within a couple of days of taking the test and you’ll get the results back within two weeks.
If there’s any trace of blood detected, it could be a number of things, not just the early signs of bowel cancer. The letter will explain the results and if you need to do anything next.
For more information and help completing the kit contact the Bowel Screening Wales helpline on 0800 294 3370
For more information and help completing the kit, you can contact the Bowel screening Wales helpline on 0800 294 3370.
British Sign Language (BSL) information
Public Health Wales have a British sign language video about bowel screening. The video is about 7 minutes long.
In Scotland, you receive a bowel cancer screening kit if you're aged between 50 and 74 years.
People aged over 74, can request a screening kit by contacting the bowel cancer screening programme on 0800 012 1833.
You can watch a video about how to do the screening test in Scotland. The video is about 1 minute long.
If you're aged between 50 and 74 watch out for the bowel cancer screening kit arriving in the post.
An easy test that can spot the early signs of bowel cancer and save lives.
In the kit there's a small stick which is used to collect a sample of poo. To take the sample you'll need to put a plastic tub and a few layers of toilet paper into the toilet to catch the poo. And then you just do your business. Then using the stick from the kit scrape a bit of poo onto the tip of the stick, making sure the 2 holes are covered. Put the stick back into the tube and twist it to close. Clean and simple.
Make sure you've put the sticker on the tube and written the date on it. Then pop it in the envelope provided and into the post. You'll get the results back within two weeks. If there's any trace of blood detected, it could be a number of things not just the early signs of cancer. A letter will explain the results and if you need to do anything next.
For more information go to cruk.org/bowelscreening.
British Sign Language (BSL) information
NHS inform have British sign language information about bowel screening. The first video is about 17 minutes. The second video is about 4 minutes.
In Northern Ireland, you receive a bowel cancer screening kit if you're aged between 60 and 74 years.
You can watch a video about how to do the screening test in Northern Ireland.
When it's time to do your bowel cancer screening test you'll get a kit through the post.
It can spot the early signs of bowel cancer and it saves lives.
In the kit there's a small stick which is used to collect a sample of poo. The lab checks for any traces of blood in the poo which is sometimes a sign of cancer.
On the day you do the test write the date on the tube. Check your letter for full instructions on how to label the tube.
To take the sample you'll need to put a plastic tub and a few layers of toilet paper into the toilet to catch the poo. And then you just do your business. Then using the stick from the kit scrape a bit of poo onto the end of the stick, making sure the 2 holes are covered. Put the stick back into the tube and twist it to close.
The tube goes into the envelope provided and into the post. Be sure to send it back as soon as possible and you'll get the results back within two weeks. If there's any trace of blood detected, it could be a number of things not just the early signs of bowel cancer. A letter will explain the results and if you need to do anything next.
For more information about bowel cancer screening go to cruk.org/bowel-screening.
For more information about the bowel cancer screening programme in Northern Ireland contact the helpline on 0800 015 2514.
Bowel screening for transgender and non-binary people
In the UK, everyone is invited to bowel cancer screening regardless of their gender.
If you are a trans woman who has had genital reconstruction surgery (vaginoplasty) using a loop of bowel, make your GP aware of this when you are eligible for bowel screening.
The bowel cancer screening test
The bowel cancer screening test is called the faecal immunochemical test (FIT).
The FIT looks for tiny traces of blood in the sample of poo which can be a sign of bowel cancer.
How to do the FIT?
You don’t need to respond to your screening invitation to take part. You will automatically be sent a testing kit (about 2 weeks later). You do the test in your own home. The test is clean and simple. You only need to collect one sample of poo.
The photo below is an example of the FIT test. It might look a little different depending on where in the UK you live.
In the envelope you receive, there is:
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a detailed leaflet with instructions on how to do the test
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a tube with a stick in it to collect your sample
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prepaid specially designed (hygienic) envelope for you to send it back
The easiest way to collect the sample is to use an old plastic container, line it with toilet paper and pop it in the toilet. And then have a poo.
Once you have collected your poo:
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dip the stick from the testing kit in the poo
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make sure the end is covered with poo
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put the stick back in the tube and twist it shut
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write the date on the side of the tube
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you may need to put a sticker from the letter on the side of the tube marked with + (this is only for people in Scotland)
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put the tube into the prepaid envelope and post it
The test only needs a small amount of poo. Don’t add extra to the stick because the laboratory may not be able to process it. This means you would have to do the test again.
When it's time to do your bowel cancer screening test you'll get a kit through the post.
It can spot the early signs of bowel cancer and it saves lives.
In the kit there's a small stick which is used to collect a sample of poo. The lab checks for any traces of blood in the poo which is sometimes a sign of cancer.
On the day you do the test write the date on the tube. Check your letter for full instructions on how to label the tube.
To take the sample you'll need to put a plastic tub and a few layers of toilet paper into the toilet to catch the poo. And then you just do your business. Then using the stick from the kit scrape a bit of poo onto the end of the stick, making sure the 2 holes are covered. Put the stick back into the tube and twist it to close.
The tube goes into the envelope provided and into the post. Be sure to send it back as soon as possible and you'll get the results back within two weeks. If there's any trace of blood detected, it could be a number of things not just the early signs of bowel cancer. A letter will explain the results and if you need to do anything next.
For more information about bowel cancer screening go to cruk.org/bowelscreening.
Getting your results
About 2 weeks after your test, you will get a letter with your results.
Most people receive a letter that says ‘no further tests needed at this time’. This doesn’t completely rule out cancer. So it’s important to know your body and what is normal for you. Contact your GP surgery if you have changes that don’t go away.
If your letter says ‘further tests needed’ this means that blood was found in your sample. This can be caused by other medical conditions and does not necessarily mean cancer. But if it is cancer, finding it at an early stage means treatment is more likely to work.
England, Wales and Scotland
The screening programme may ask you to do the test again if your letter says ‘further tests needed’. Or you'll have an appointment to see a specialist nurse at a bowel cancer screening centre. The nurse will talk to you about having a test to look at the inside of your large bowel. This is called a colonoscopy. You might have another test if a colonoscopy is not suitable for you.
Northern Ireland
If you have a result saying ‘further tests needed’ you will be asked to contact the helpline on 0800 015 2514 to arrange an assessment. This number is free to call.
You’ll receive a letter confirming your assessment appointment. The assessment is with a specialist screening practitioner (SSP). The SSP is a nurse. Your appointment with the SSP may be by telephone or in person.
The SSP will discuss your result with you. They also give you details about the next steps, which is usually a test to look at the inside of your large bowel. This is called a colonoscopy. You might have another test if a colonoscopy is not suitable for you.
Possible benefits and risks of bowel cancer screening
Possible benefits
Bowel cancer screening saves lives. It aims to prevent and detect cancer at an early stage when treatment is more likely to work.
Risks
False positive result
This means that the test picks up something even though the person doesn't have cancer. This can cause anxiety and lead to further tests.
False negative result
Rarely, screening tests miss a cancer. It is important to know the symptoms of bowel cancer and see your GP if you have any symptoms.
Overdiagnosis
There is a small chance that some people may be diagnosed and treated for bowel growths that would not have caused any harm.
Screening for people at higher risk
Bowel screening works well at reducing deaths from bowel cancer in people in their 50s, 60s and early 70s.
Some people can have regular screening at an earlier age, if they have certain conditions that increase their risk of bowel cancer.
Symptoms
See your GP if you have any possible symptoms of bowel cancer. You should not wait for your screening kit.
Jan's story
This is Jan's story about her diagnosis and treatment for bowel cancer.
"I had done the test many times before. Unlike the other times the result that came back was not good. I have had surgery ….it was successfully removed. So no further treatment required."
