\n<\/p>\n
All 50-74-year-olds in England will now receive a home-testing kit for bowel cancer every two years.<\/b><\/p>\n
NHS England has been posting the faecal-immunochemical test (Fit) to all 54-74-year-olds since 2021 and anyone older can request one over the phone.<\/p>\n
But after trials of local screening programmes for 50-year-olds, the age is now being lowered, bringing it in line with Scotland and Wales.<\/p>\n
And more than 850,000 extra people in England will now be able to return a stool sample to be checked for blood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Northamptonshire’s youngest patient diagnosed through the screening programme, Steven Ball, 54, submitted a positive sample last May.<\/p>\n
A colonoscopy at his local hospital detected a small lesion, found to be early-stage cancer.<\/p>\n
Keyhole surgery removed it, in July, and Mr Ball is now unlikely to need further treatment.<\/p>\n
“My cancer was so small it didn’t show up on a CT scan and it was caught at a very early stage and removed, which is the best thing that can happen, he told BBC News.<\/a> <\/p>\n “It shows how important it is to do your stool test when it comes through the post and to get yourself checked out so you have peace of mind.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n One out of every 50 of those who return samples needs further testing, which can include a scan, the NHS says<\/p>\n But less than 60% of 54-57-year-olds return their Fit kits, compared with more than 70% of 60-74-year-olds.<\/p>\n Cancer Research UK says more than 120 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer – the fourth most common type – each day in the UK, more than 11% of all new cancer cases.<\/p>\n NHS England national clinical director for cancer Prof Peter Johnson urged people not to “feel embarrassed about poo”, encouraging all those eligible to use the “quick and simple” Fit kit.<\/p>\n “What we do know is that the chances of surviving it are very good when it is caught early,” he added.<\/p>\n Bowel Cancer UK’s research director Dr Lisa Wilde said: “Screening is one of the best ways to spot bowel cancer at an early stage – when it is treatable and curable.<\/p>\n “In fact, more than nine in 10 people survive bowel cancer when it’s diagnosed at the earliest stage.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n