NHS test being sent in post to nearly 1m people 'could save your life'
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Hundreds of thousands of people aged 50 and 52 will be receiving a bowel cancer testing kit in the post as the NHS expands its screening programme across England. The extension means that around 850,000 more people will now be included in the bowel cancer screening programme, with those aged 50 and 52 set to receive kits by the end of March.
Those aged 51 and 53 will have to wait until their next birthday but will then be posted a kit. Currently, the programme covers people aged 54 to 74, but with this expansion, everyone aged 50 to 74 will eventually be offered a home screening test to help detect bowel cancer.
The faecal immunochemical test (FIT) checks for blood in a stool sample, with individuals collecting their own sample at home before posting it back to NHS labs in a prepaid return envelope. Results are then sent out to people, along with any information about further tests, if required.
The NHS is urging people to take up the test after figures showed that fewer than 60% of 54 to 57 year olds do so, compared with more than 70% of those aged 60 to 74. People are much more likely to survive bowel cancer or have successful treatment if the disease is caught before it has spread.
Steve Russell, NHS England's national director for vaccinations and screening, has urged the public to participate in bowel cancer screenings, especially as the programme expands to include those aged 50. He highlighted: "Lives are saved when cancers are caught early and the expansion of the NHS bowel cancer screening programme to those aged 50 will help to spot signs of bowel cancer sooner, and potentially save thousands of lives. We are seeing positive uptake of the home-testing FIT kits, with over two-thirds of those eligible returning their tests, but this drops off in the lower age groups and we want to see even more people taking up the offer.".
