An update to bowel cancer screening in Dorset

Bowel cancer screening in Dorset is changing. The coronavirus pandemic has put additional pressure on the whole of the NHS including bowel cancer screening services. In order to continue to provide an equitable and effective service, planned changes to the service have been brought forward.

From April 2021 all 56 years olds will now receive a home ‘poo test kit’. This is a quick and simple test that can be done at home and then mailed to the screening hub to be analysed for signs of blood. This test is already offered biannually to everyone aged 60 to 74 and is instrumental in the prevention and early diagnosis of bowel cancers.

The age extension of the programme is planned to continue over the next few years, and by 2025 aims to be testing everyone from age 50 to 74 bi annually.

This is a positive step forward in the fight against bowel cancer as we know that the sooner we can detect a cancer the easier it is to treat and the better the outcome for patients. We urge everyone to participate.

When diagnosed at its earliest stage, more than 9 in 10 (92%) people with bowel cancer will survive their disease for five years or more, compared with 1 in 10 (10%) people when the disease is diagnosed at the latest stage. [Cancer Research UK]

The Bowel Scope screening previously offered to 55 year olds in Dorset has now been decommissioned nationally.

Commenting on the update, Rachel Tizzard, specialist screening practitioner at University Hospitals Dorset said: “We are very excited about the age extension to the bowel cancer screening programme. We see, on a daily basis, how screening can prevent bowel cancer or detect it earlier that the symptomatic service is able to, and we encourage everyone to complete their ‘poo kit’ when they receive it.”

Further information can be found at Bowel cancer screening: programme overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)