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Introduction

Transcript

You can choose if you take part in bowel cancer screening. This information aims to help you decide.

Why the NHS offers bowel cancer screening

We offer screening to try and find signs of bowel cancer at an early stage when there are no symptoms. This is when treatment can be more effective.听聽

Sometimes cells in the bowel grow too quickly and form a clump known as a bowel polyp. Polyps are not cancers but can develop into cancers over time. Finding polyps means they can be removed.听聽

Regular screening reduces your risk of getting and dying from bowel cancer.

Who we invite for bowel cancer screening

We invite people aged 54 to 74 years for bowel cancer screening every 2 years. We send a bowel cancer screening home test kit. The programme is gradually expanding to make it available to eligible people aged 50 and over.听

You must be registered with a GP and live in England to be invited. Your GP surgery gives us your contact information. Please make sure they have the correct details, including your:聽

• 苍补尘别听听
• date of birth聽
• 补诲诲谤别蝉蝉听
• phone number聽and
• email address.听

If you are 75 or over, you can still take part in bowel cancer screening every 2 years, but you will not be invited. Phone our free helpline on聽0800 707 60 60.

Bowel cancer

The bowel is part of your digestive system. It takes nutrients and water from food and turns what鈥檚 left into poo. The colon and rectum make up the large bowel.听

Bowel cancer is cancer that鈥檚 found anywhere in the large bowel. This includes the colon and rectum.

The colon and rectum make up the large bowel and are part of the digestive system.

How bowel cancer screening works

Your invitation will give you information about bowel cancer screening.听聽

We鈥檒l send you a home test kit, called a faecal immunochemical test. You use this kit to collect a small sample of poo and send it to a lab. The lab checks the sample for tiny amounts of blood. This is because polyps and bowel cancers sometimes bleed. After this, most people will not need any further tests.听

If we find blood in your poo sample, you may need further tests to help us find what is causing the blood. We鈥檒l offer you an appointment to talk about having a colonoscopy. A colonoscopy looks at the inside of your bowel.

For most people, no further tests are needed. We offer people who do need further tests an appointment to discuss colonoscopy.

Using the home test kit

To do the screening test, you need to collect a small amount of your poo using the kit. Please use a clean disposable container to collect your sample. You then send this sample in the post for testing. The kit includes prepaid packaging and full instructions.听聽

Once we鈥檝e checked your sample, we record the result and destroy the test kit and contents.听聽

If you have any questions, please call our free helpline on聽0800 707 60 60. This includes if you:

• need help to do the test
• are unsure if you should use it, for example, if you鈥檝e had surgery
• have a stoma bag (colostomy or ileostomy) and need advice.

It鈥檚 best to collect your sample when you鈥檙e not having a period. Avoid the 2 days before or after you bleed.

Bowel cancer screening results

You should get your results within 2 weeks of sending in your sample. There are 2 possible results:聽聽

Either 鈥楴o further tests needed at this time鈥� or 鈥楩urther tests needed鈥�.

No further tests needed at this time聽聽

Most people (around 97 to 98 in 100) have this result.听聽

It means that we did not find any blood in your sample, or only a tiny amount which is less than the screening level.听聽

We鈥檒l offer you bowel cancer screening again in 2 years if you are under the age of 75.听

This result聽does not guarantee聽that you do not have bowel cancer. Bowel cancer could still develop in the future. See a GP if you have or get symptoms of bowel cancer.

Further tests needed聽聽

Around 2 to 3 in 100 people have this result.听聽

It means we found an amount of blood in your poo at or above the screening level. This is also known as a threshold.听聽

Several things can cause blood in poo. We will offer you an appointment to discuss having a colonoscopy to check the cause of the blood.听

A colonoscopy is a test to check inside your bowels. 聽Find聽more information on colonoscopy聽at .听

For every 100 people getting their home test kit results, 97 to 98 do not need further tests and 2 to 3 will need further tests.

Possible risks of bowel cancer screening

No screening test is 100% reliable.听

Bowel cancer screening could miss a polyp or cancer. This could happen if the polyp or cancer was not bleeding when you used the home test kit.听聽聽

Most people will not need further tests. If you do, there鈥檚 a small risk that having a colonoscopy could damage your bowel, but this is rare. You鈥檒l get more information to help you decide when you have an appointment to discuss a colonoscopy.

Bowel cancer symptoms

Symptoms of bowel cancer may include:聽聽

• changes in your poo, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is not usual for you聽
• needing to poo more or less often than usual for you聽
• blood in your poo, which may look red or black聽
• bleeding from your bottom聽
• often feeling like you need to poo, even if you鈥檝e just been to the toilet聽
• tummy (abdominal) pain聽
• a lump in your tummy (abdomen)聽
• 产濒辞补迟颈苍驳听
• losing weight without trying聽
• feeling very tired, for example because of a lower than normal level of red blood cells (anaemia).听

These symptoms do not necessarily mean that you have bowel cancer. If you have any of these symptoms for 3 weeks or more, please speak with your GP. It鈥檚 important to do this even if you have recently had bowel cancer screening.

Who is more likely to get bowel cancer

You may be more likely to get bowel cancer if:聽

• you鈥檙e over 50聽
• you smoke聽
• you鈥檙e overweight聽
• a close relative has had bowel cancer聽
• you have聽inflammatory bowel disease, which includes聽Crohn鈥檚 disease聽and聽ulcerative colitis聽
• you have small growths in your bowel called聽bowel polyps, or聽
• you have聽Lynch Syndrome聽or familial adenomatous polyposis.听

Find聽more information on how to lower your risk of bowel cancer聽on NHS.UK.

More information and support

For advice on bowel cancer screening, you can phone our free helpline on聽0800 707 60 60.听 聽

If you have hearing or speech difficulties, you can use the Relay UK service to contact us. Dial聽18001听迟丑别苍听0800 707 60 60聽from your textphone or use the聽Relay UK app. 聽

This information聽is available in alternative formats on GOV dot UK, including聽easy read聽and聽other languages. To request another format, you can phone聽0300 311 22 33聽or email聽[email protected]. 聽

To read information for transgender and non-binary people about NHS screening programmes, go to .

We use personal information from your NHS records to invite you for screening at the right time. NHS England also uses your information to ensure you receive high quality care and to improve the screening programmes. Read more about how we use and protect your information at . 聽聽聽

You can find out how to opt out of screening at .