Bowel cancer screening

What is it?

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 risks

All 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. 

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.

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.

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.

In the envelope you receive, there is:

  • a detailed leaflet with instructions on how to do the test
  • a tube with a stick in it to collect your sample
  • 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:

  • dip the stick from the testing kit in the poo
  • make sure the end is covered with poo
  • put the stick back in the tube and twist it shut
  • write the date on the side of the tube
  • 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)
  • put the tube into the prepaid envelope and post it

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. See your GP 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.

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. 

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."

  • Bowel cancer screening: the facts
    NHS cancer screening programmes, 2012

  • Bowel cancer screening
    NHS England
    Accessed October 2021

  • Bowel Screening Wales
    NHS Wales
    Accessed October 2021

  • NI Bowel cancer screening programme
    HSC Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland)
    Accessed October 2021

  • Scottish Bowel Screening Programme
    NHS Health Scotland
    Accessed October 2021

  • Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain & Ireland (ACPGBI): Guidelines for the management of cancer of the colon, rectum and anus (2017) – diagnosis, investigations and screening
    C Cunnigham and others
    Colorectal disease, 2017. Volume 19, Pages 1-97

Last reviewed: 
06 Apr 2022
Next review due: 
06 Apr 2025

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