Bowel cancer home screening saves lives – we must increase the uptake
NHS bowel-cancer screening programme home testing kit | Image by: UrbanImages / Alamy
2 min read
Just under 70 per cent of eligible people in England complete their home test
Bowel cancer is the UK’s fourth most common cancer and the second biggest cause of cancer death. Every 12 minutes, someone is diagnosed with the disease, and around 17,400 people lose their lives to it each year.
These figures are stark but they are not inevitable. Bowel cancer is often treatable and, if it is diagnosed early, in many cases curable. More than nine in 10 people diagnosed at the earliest stage will survive bowel cancer for five years or more, compared with around one in 10 diagnosed at the latest stage.
That is why screening matters so much. Bowel cancer screening is one of the most effective ways to detect the disease early and save lives. Over the past two decades, the NHS has made important progress in expanding access to screening in England, with eligible people aged 50 to 74 now sent a free home test every two years.
Further changes to the test used in England have also been announced, with the aim of detecting more cancers earlier – and identifying more people with high-risk polyps that can be removed before they develop into cancer.
The message is simple. Early diagnosis saves lives
Uptake remains important. Just under 70 per cent of eligible people in England complete their home test, and participation is lower in some communities than in others. People may put it off for all sorts of reasons. Life is busy, symptoms may be overlooked, and there is still too much embarrassment around a subject that should be discussed far more openly.
The message is simple. Early diagnosis saves lives. If you are sent a bowel cancer screening test, complete it and return it. And if you notice symptoms such as a persistent change in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss, abdominal pain or ongoing fatigue, do not ignore them.
Bowel Cancer Awareness Month is an important opportunity to raise awareness, encourage more people to take up screening, and support everyone affected by the disease.
Stuart Andrew is Conservative MP for Daventry and shadow secretary of state for health and social Care
