Aylestone Health Centre

Bowel Cancer Screening Information

In 2026 Bowel Cancer screening is offered to 50–74-year-olds every 2 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.

Blood can be a sign of polyps or bowel cancer. Polyps are growths in the bowel. They are not cancer, but may turn into cancer over time.

If the test finds anything unusual, you might be asked to go to hospital to have further tests to confirm or rule out cancer.

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 to have a screening test.

Videos

How to do a bowel cancer screening test in Gujarati

How to do a bowel cancer screening test in English

How to do a bowel cancer screening test in Urdu

How to do a bowel cancer screening test with Hystool

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Bowel cancer screening test in Gujarati

Bowel cancer screening test in English

Bowel cancer screening test in Urdu