Bowel Screening

NHS bowel cancer screening checks if you could have bowel cancer. It’s available to everyone aged 60 to 74 years and is expanding to make it available to everyone aged 50 to 59 years over the next few years.

You use a home test kit, called a faecal immunochemical test (FIT), to collect a small sample of poo and send it to a lab. This is checked for tiny amounts of blood.

You will receive a home test kit via post so it is important to ensure that your GP practice has your correct address.

Always see a GP if you have symptoms of bowel cancer at any age, even if you have recently completed a NHS bowel cancer screening test kit – do not wait until another screening test is due.