Welcome to the North Essex Bowel Cancer Screening Programme
People aged 60 - 69 and registered with a GP in the NHS Mid Essex and NHS North East Essex areas are being invited to take part in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.
From February 2009 the North Essex Screening Centre, based at Colchester Primary Care Centre, covering the population of north and mid Essex, will give thousands of people the opportunity to be screened and therefore receive early treatment if they need it.
People will be invited to take part by letter and will then be sent a free and simple test kit to use in the privacy of their own home. The programme uses the faecal occult blood test, which looks for hidden (occult) traces of blood in the stools.
About 98 in 100 people receive a normal result. The test does not diagnose bowel cancer but indicates whether further investigations are required. Two in 100 people will receive a positive test result which can occur for a variety of reasons, for example, haemorrhoids, diet, medications, as well as in cases of bowel cancer.
People aged 60 - 69 will usually be offered their first screening around the time of their birthday every two years. If anyone is concerned about their bowel health in the meantime they should see their GP in the usual way. People age 70 and over can call a freephone helpline on 0800 707 60 60 to request a test kit.
This number can also be called for advice by people invited to take up bowel cancer screening. Further information can also be found in the leaflets Bowel Cancer Screening - The Facts, and Bowel Cancer Screening - the Colonoscopy
Bowel cancer facts
- bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK
- about 80% of people who get bowel cancer are over 60
- there are abound 35,000 cases of bowel cancer in the UK each year
- there are approximately 16,000 deaths a year from bowel cancer
- bowel cancer affects more than 1 in 20 people in their lifetime but 90% survive if it is caught early enough
Help for people affected by cancer is available here.
North East Essex Cancer Services User Group.
