Diagnosing bowel cancer
What is it?
Bowel screening aims to find cancer early or to find changes in your bowel that could lead to cancer.
How often do you have it?
People who can take part receive a bowel cancer testing kit every 2 years through the post. This kit comes from one of the National screening programmes in the UK. You need to be registered with a GP to receive your screening invitations.
How do you do it?
The test is called FIT - Faecal Immunochemical Test. It looks for tiny traces of blood. You do the test at home. It is clean and simple. The kit contains instructions of what to do including a specially designed prepaid envelope to send the sample back.
When will I get my results?
You should get the results within a few weeks. The letter will tell you what you need to do next.
Benefits and risks
All cancer screening has both possible benefits (pros) and risks (cons). It’s important to read the information that comes with your screening invitation. It can help you decide whether you want to take part.
What is it?
Bowel screening aims to find cancer early or to find changes in your bowel that could lead to cancer.
How often do you have it?
People who can take part receive a bowel cancer testing kit every 2 years through the post. This kit comes from one of the National screening programmes in the UK. You need to be registered with a GP to receive your screening invitations.
How do you do it?
The test is called FIT - Faecal Immunochemical Test. It looks for tiny traces of blood. You do the test at home. It is clean and simple. The kit contains instructions of what to do including a specially designed prepaid envelope to send the sample back.
When will I get my results?
You should get the results within a few weeks. The letter will tell you what you need to do next.
Benefits and risks
All cancer screening has both possible benefits (pros) and risks (cons). It’s important to read the information that comes with your screening invitation. It can help you decide whether you want to take part.
For screening to be useful the tests need to:
be reliable at picking up cancers or abnormalities that could lead to cancer
do more good than harm to people taking part
be something that people are willing to do
Screening tests are not perfect and have some risks. The screening programme should also be good value for money for the NHS.
The screening programmes send a bowel cancer testing kit every 2 years to people eligible to take part. You need to be registered with a GP to receive your screening invitations.
There are separate bowel screening programmes for the different countries in the UK.
In the UK, everyone is invited to bowel cancer screening regardless of their gender.
If you are a trans woman who has had genital reconstruction surgery (vaginoplasty) using a loop of bowel, make your GP aware of this when you are eligible for bowel screening.
Go to information about screening for trans and non-binary people
The bowel cancer screening test is called the faecal immunochemical test (FIT).
The FIT looks for tiny traces of blood in the sample of poo which can be a sign of bowel cancer.
You don’t need to respond to your screening invitation to take part. You will automatically be sent a testing kit (about 2 weeks later). You do the test in your own home. The test is clean and simple. You only need to collect one sample of poo.
The photo below is an example of the FIT test. It might look a little different depending on where in the UK you live.
In the envelope you receive, there is:
a detailed leaflet with instructions on how to do the test
a tube with a stick in it to collect your sample
prepaid specially designed (hygienic) envelope for you to send it back
The easiest way to collect the sample is to use an old plastic container, line it with toilet paper and pop it in the toilet. And then have a poo.
Once you have collected your poo:
scrape a bit of poo on to the end of the stick
make sure the 2 grooves are covered with poo
put the stick back in the tube and twist it shut
write the date on the side of the tube
you may need to put a sticker from the letter on the side of the tube marked with + (this is only for people in Scotland)
put the tube into the prepaid envelope and post it
The test only needs a small amount of poo. Don’t add extra to the stick because the laboratory may not be able to process it. This means you would have to do the test again.
About 2 weeks after your test, you will get a letter with your results.
Most people receive a letter that says ‘no further tests needed at this time’. This doesn’t completely rule out cancer. So it’s important to know your body and what is normal for you. Contact your GP surgery if you have changes that don’t go away.
If your letter says ‘further tests needed’ this means that blood was found in your sample. This can be caused by other medical conditions and does not necessarily mean cancer. But if it is cancer, finding it at an early stage means treatment is more likely to work.
England, Wales and Scotland
The screening programme may ask you to do the test again if your letter says ‘further tests needed’. Or you'll have an appointment to see a specialist nurse at a bowel cancer screening centre. The nurse will talk to you about having a test to look at the inside of your large bowel. This is called a colonoscopy. You might have another test if a colonoscopy is not suitable for you.
Northern Ireland
If you have a result saying ‘further tests needed’ you will be asked to contact the helpline on 0800 015 2514 to arrange an assessment. This number is free to call.
You’ll receive a letter confirming your assessment appointment. The assessment is with a specialist screening practitioner (SSP). The SSP is a nurse. Your appointment with the SSP may be by telephone or in person.
The SSP will discuss your result with you. They also give you details about the next steps, which is usually a test to look at the inside of your large bowel. This is called a colonoscopy. You might have another test if a colonoscopy is not suitable for you.
Bowel cancer screening saves lives. It aims to prevent and detect cancer at an early stage when treatment is more likely to work.
This means that the test picks up something even though the person doesn't have cancer. This can cause anxiety and lead to further tests.
Rarely, screening tests miss a cancer. It is important to know the symptoms of bowel cancer and see your GP if you have any symptoms.
Find out more about the symptoms of bowel cancer
There is a small chance that some people may be diagnosed and treated for bowel growths that would not have caused any harm.
Bowel screening works well at reducing deaths from bowel cancer in people in their 50s, 60s and early 70s.
Some people can have regular screening at an earlier age, if they have certain conditions that increase their risk of bowel cancer.
Read about screening people at higher risk
See your GP if you have any possible symptoms of bowel cancer. You should not wait for your screening kit.
Find out more about symptoms of bowel cancer
This is Jan's story about her diagnosis and treatment for bowel cancer.
"I had done the test many times before. Unlike the other times the result that came back was not good. I have had surgery ….it was successfully removed. So no further treatment required."
Last reviewed: 27 Nov 2024
Next review due: 27 Nov 2027
Symptoms of bowel (colorectal) cancer can include bleeding from the back passage, blood in your poo or a change in your normal bowel habit.
People with some conditions have a higher risk of getting bowel cancer at a younger age than usual. They might have screening earlier than the normal UK bowel cancer screening programmes.
You might have a number of tests to check for bowel cancer. This includes a test that looks for tiny traces of blood in a sample of poo (FIT) and a test to look at the inside of your bowel (colonoscopy).
Bowel cancer is also called colorectal cancer. It affects the large bowel, which is made up of the colon and rectum.
For some types of cancer screening, your sex assigned at birth, hormones or surgeries you may have had, will be relevant.
Bowel cancer means cancer that starts in the colon (large bowel) or back passage (rectum). It is also known as colorectal cancer.
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