NHS England is to rollout bowel cancer home test kits to all people aged 58 and over as part of a major expansion of their bowel disease prevention programme.
Each year, 43,000 Brits are diagnosed with bowel cancer- the UK's third deadliest cancer.
This means that roughly 830,000 Brits will be sent a Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) which can detect tiny amounts of blood in stool samples, allowing doctors to identify and treat bowel cancers at their earliest and most treatable stages.
Those eligible will be sent an invitation, and then the convenient home faecal test and a return envelope.
These kits will first be sent to eligible Londoners, who have the lowest bowel cancer test rates in the country.
The NHS says that this is the first part of a widespread bowel cancer screening programme, which will include everyone over 50 by the year 2025.
National Clinical Director for Cancer Professor Peter Johnson, said: “We are expanding the bowel cancer screening programme in a phased approach to make sure we can diagnose bowel cancer as early as possible, often before symptoms appear – potentially saving thousands of lives with a simple and convenient test."
The spotlight has been on the disease recently, following the inspirational life of Dame Deborah James, who raised awareness and tens of millions in research money while living with terminal Stage Four bowel cancer.
As part of her campaigning, she wanted the public to know when to speak to a doctor about potential symptoms.
Current Health Secretary Steve Barclay stressed the importance of testing for the disease. He said: “More than 16,000 people die from this disease every year in the UK, meaning that greater screening uptake is vital.
“I urge you to use the kit when it lands on your door and stay alert for the main symptoms of bowel cancer, such as abdominal pain or blood in the stool, to help stop the disease in its tracks”.
The NHS says that more than 90 per cent of people with bowel cancer have at least one of the common symptoms like the following
- Abdominal pain - bloating, reduction in food eaten or weight loss.
- Blood in the poo - watch for this appearing without other symptoms such as haemorrhoids.
- Change in bowel habit - more frequent trips to the toilet with looser and runnier poos. People should watch out for pain in the abdomen.
