New NHS Campaign highlights the importance of bowel cancer screenings

People in Liverpool and across Merseyside and Cheshire are being urged to complete their bowel screening test when they get it, with a new message: “Just a tiny bit of poo could be lifesaving for you!”

The NHS sends out testing kits every two years to people aged 50 to 74 so they can take a small swab sample of their poo to send off to be analysed for any signs of bowel cancer. The test, officially called a Faecal Immunochemical Test or FIT kit, looks for tiny specks of blood in poo, which can signal cancer.

Traces of blood can be caused by other medical conditions and may not mean you have cancer, but if it is, finding it at an early stage means treatment is more likely to be successful.

The campaign is going out across Cheshire and Merseyside but is particularly targeted in certain areas in the region, including Liverpool, St Helens, Knowsley, Crewe and Chester. 

The campaign, funded by Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA), focuses on how to do the test and will include leaflets, posters, and social media posts and is designed to improve early detection of bowel cancer, the third most common type of cancer in England.

If you are registered with a GP practice, the NHS will send a screening kit to your home in the post every two years between the ages of 50 and 74. If you are aged 75 or over, you can ask for a home test kit every two years by calling the bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 6060.

If you do not have a permanent home address, you can ask your GP surgery for your test kit to be sent to the GP surgery or to another address.

You will get your results in around two weeks, most people are fine, but a small number may need further tests.

John McCabe, Medical Director of CMCA, said:

“It is vital to complete your FIT test if you receive one from the NHS in the post. It can find cancer early, before you notice any symptoms. 

“Screening does not stop you getting bowel cancer, but it is the best way to find cancer at an early stage, when it is easier to treat. It is really easy to carry out and is done in the privacy of your own home, when it is convenient to you.

“About 2,000 people in Cheshire and Merseyside are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year, and there are concerns that it is becoming more common for people in their 50s. But what we do know is that the chances of surviving it are very good when it is caught early, which is why the NHS is sending out millions of free bowel cancer screening kits for people to use in the comfort of their own homes, and we urge everyone invited to take part.

“There is no need to feel embarrassed about poo – the test is quick and simple to use and can detect signs of bowel cancer, often before symptoms appear, so please do return your FIT kit if you are sent one.

“If at any time you have any symptoms such as bleeding from your bottom, a change in your bowel habits or severe stomach pain, do not wait for your screening, contact your GP practice to get checked as soon as possible.”

Cheshire cancer patient Steve Hollington, a patient representative at CMCA, had his bowel cancer diagnosed through the testing programme.

He said:

“I had no symptoms, I would have carried on not knowing had I not taken the test and leaving it so long would have almost certainly been too late to receive the treatment I have. Taking the bowel screening kit has saved my life and potentially given me 20 more years to live it.”

If you think you are eligible for bowel cancer screening, but you have not been sent a kit, call the bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 6060. If you live in Merseyside and have been sent a kit in the last two years but did not complete it, you can call for a kit on 0151 706 3823 or email: BowelScreeningCallForAKit@liverpoolft.nhs.uk

Find more information on the campaign here.

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