NHS marks 20 years of bowel screening and urges more people to get tested

The NHS is urging more people to take up the invite of bowel screening as it marks 20 years since it began.

Since it started in 2006, the NHS has caught 70,000 cancers with almost 85 million people in total having been screened.

Introduced for people in their 60s, the lifesaving test is now available to 50 to 74-year-olds, with almost 7million people having bowel screening from the NHS during 2024/25.

Only half of people aged 60 to 74 came forward for screening two decades ago, but this has risen to more than seven in 10 people last year.

Mr Peter Coyne, Colorectal Surgeon at Newcastle Hospitals and Clinical Lead for Northern Cancer Alliance’s Colorectal Pathway Board, said: “The NHS’ bowel screening programme has been hugely influential over the last two decades in detecting bowel cancer earlier when it is more treatable.

“We’d urge anyone in the North East and North Cumbria who receives a kit through the post to not put it off and complete it straightaway.

“While bowel cancer screening rates have risen and more and more people are benefiting from this potentially lifesaving test, uptake is lower in some parts of our region. We remain committed to working with partners to raise awareness of screening in these communities and break down the barriers people may face in taking part.”

It has never been easier to get screened, with the NHS sending around 8.7million home-testing kits a year to people.

The kit, known as the faecal immunochemical test (FIT), checks for blood in a small stool sample, which can be a sign of bowel cancer. FIT kits are used at home by putting a poo sample in a small tube and returning it by post to the NHS for testing.

Nationally, the NHS has credited the work of bowel cancer campaigner Dame Deborah James, who died of the disease in 2022, for an increase in uptake in recent years.

Professor Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer at NHS England, said: “The NHS has transformed bowel screening over the last two decades, making it easier than ever before for people’s cancer to be picked up, and the sooner it is spotted the easier it is to treat.

“And thanks to the fantastic work of Dame Deborah James we’ve seen a big jump in the number of people taking up the offer of bowel screening.

“Bowel cancer has become more common in recent years, and anyone aged between 50 and 74-years-old should be regularly tested, so the NHS will send you a test when you’re eligible that takes just minutes to do from the comfort of your home.

“There is no need to be embarrassed – a simple poo test could be the difference between enjoying many more years with your loved ones, or having your life cut short by bowel cancer.

“For anyone experiencing symptoms such as blood in their poo or severe stomach pain, no matter their age, you can speak to your GP and get it checked out as soon as possible, as well as completing your screening test when invited.”

Find out more about bowel cancer screening and how to complete a test.