People in 50s urged to complete bowel cancer screening
The NHS has urged people in their 50s to get tested for bowel cancer due to “low” numbers taking part in screening.
Official figures from NHS England show just over half of 54-year-olds completed home testing kits last year, compared with 74% of 70 to 74-year-olds.
“Bowline cancer can develop without any symptoms, but early detection saves lives,” said Prof Peter Johnson, NHS national cancer clinical director.
In England, Wales and Scotland, free home testing kits are sent to everyone aged 50 to 74 every two years.
Northern Ireland is sending free tests to people aged 60 to 74 who are registered with a GP, but health authorities are considering extending screening to younger age groups.
Testing kits require small stool samples for doctors to check for blood, helping detect bowel cancer early.
The NHS said an average of at least a hundred cancers per week were diagnosed through screening programs in the 12 months from April 2024 to March 2025.
“So when your NHS kit lands on the doormat, don’t put it on the shelf and forget about it. Do the test and send it back – it could save your life,” Johnson said in a statement.
The free kits, called fecal immunochemical testing (Fit), can be sent back in a prepaid envelope.
“People have extremely busy lives,” Johnson added. “However, we are concerned about the low number of people in their 50s returning bowel screening kits.”
The NHS issues around 8.7 million Fit kits each year. It was launched in a pilot in 2021 before being rolled out to everyone aged 50 to 74 from January last year.
Cancer Research UK says more than 130 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer (the fourth most common type) every day in the UK, accounting for around 12% of all new cancer cases.
He said the government and health services needed to do more to tackle the barriers people face when attending screening.
Joanne Vernon, from Wigan, bounced back after getting Fit at the age of 54. He then underwent further tests and was diagnosed with early-stage bowel cancer.
“When I got my test I didn’t have any symptoms. Not one. So when the results came back I was really shocked.” Vernon, now 56, said.
His cancer was diagnosed early, which meant he needed surgery, but he did not need to receive chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
“I want to make sure everyone my age completes theirs when they get one; it’s so easy to do and it was life-changing for me.”
