Home-testing kit for bowel cancer now available to more Wigan residents

People aged 54 and over will now automatically receive a home-testing kit every two years by post when they become eligible.

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.

It is already made available through the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme to everyone aged 56 to 74, with a phased expansion to people aged 54 meaning an additional 830,000 people in England will now be eligible.

Latest North West data shows 66.5 per cent of 60 to 74-year-olds completed bowel screening in 2022/23. In the age-extended cohorts – those aged 54 to 59 – national modelling has shown uptake is up to 10 per cent lower.

This significant expansion of the screening programme is the latest step in the NHS’s drive to find cancers at an earlier stage, when they are easier to treat.

FIT kits are done at home by putting a poo sample in a small tube and returning it by post to the NHS for testing.

Those newly eligible will receive an invitation letter and a test with full instructions and prepaid return packaging.

Results are sent back to participants, along with information about further tests if needed.

Tricia Spedding, head of public health for NHS England in the North West, said: “Our efforts to catch cancers at the earliest stages are saving lives, and expanding the bowel screening programme to those who are 54 will mean thousands more lives could potentially be saved.

“The FIT kit is a vital part of our screening programme and can catch cancer even before there are any signs or symptoms, and often when it is more treatable.

“I would urge anyone who receives a kit through the post to return it as quickly as you can. Please don’t ignore it.”

Since the FIT kit was introduced into the screening programme in April 2019, national uptake has increased from 59.2 per cent to 67.8 per cent.

The kit is more convenient to use than the previous home test, as it only requires one sample which can be done at home and returned in a sealed bottle.

Due to the increased uptake with the kit, more cancers are now being detected.

Around two out of 100 people who use the kit will require further testing.

People aged 75 and over can request a kit by phoning the NHS bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60.

Information on bowel cancer and the screening programme can be found at www.nhs.uk/conditions/bowel-cancer-screening.

Anyone with symptoms of bowel cancer is urged to contact their GP, rather than wait for a screening test.

The type of changes to look out for are: changes in your usual bowel habits for three weeks or more; tummy discomfort; blood in poo; diarrhoea or constipation for no obvious reason; a feeling of not having emptied your bowels after going to the toilet; pain in your stomach or bottom; your poo is loose, pale or looks greasy.