Bowel screening letter

It is up to people to decide if they take the test or not. The NHS offers the choice. Sending out is part of preventive medecine and saves on expensive treatment at a later date. Statistics presumably show that once over the age of 74 the percentage of money saving returns is lower. Over a certain age we are no longer offered smear tests for cervical cancer. The NHS has to judge how best to spend its (our) money.

I am another that had a negative poo test just a couple of months before being diagnosed with bowel cancer. If you are not bleeding at the time of test it will have a negative result.
I wonder why they can't do a blood test every few years to pick up on markers, surely can't be any more expensive than all the kits and postage and lab work.

agree, happens to me every two years total waste. You should at least be able to opt for texts

My dh was told he had piles by the GP it is only because of such tests that his bowel cancer was discovered! He has now been on treatment since 2013 receiving major surgeries but is incurable Stage4. They can no longer operate as it is in bowel lungs and liver but a gruelling chemotherapy regime is keeping the cancer cells spreading too quickly.

You would be a fool not to take the invitation, it could save your life and at the same time save the NHS money treating you in the future, what's the matter with you?

HattieTopper
Your relative probably knew there was a problem but didn’t want to acknowledge it. My mother and sister had bowel cancer, mother lived with stoma for 30yrs, sadly my beautiful eldest sister died of bowel cancer, I and siblings had to have screening which is so important. Never ignore signs, bowel cancer is treatable if detected early. Postal ‘Poo’ tests are so so important, please do them! Xx

harrigran

I am another that had a negative poo test just a couple of months before being diagnosed with bowel cancer. If you are not bleeding at the time of test it will have a negative result.
I wonder why they can't do a blood test every few years to pick up on markers, surely can't be any more expensive than all the kits and postage and lab work.

'Every few years means more would be missed, found too late. It would be much more expensive to have to attend somewhere to get bloods taken, fewer people would bother, the markers aren't reliable as they show increases for reasons like pregnancy, smoking etc. Then if there was a marker there'd be further tests before identifying where in the body a cancer may or may not be.

Do any test you are offered, this is my view- because we are lucky we can have them, especially with the state of the NHS.My hubby has been invited a few times for bowel screening (camera & turned them down each time) I think hes nuts - although he has recently done the poo sample test