The NHS will be providing hundreds of thousands more people with home-testing kits that could help detect signs of bowel cancer. The annoucement comes as the health service plans to expand its lifesaving screen programme to 50-year-olds in England.
People between the ages of 50 and 52 will now recieve a home test kit in the post every two years as part of the final phase of the NHS ambition to offer 50 to 74 year olds the screening test.
The programme expansion now means that approximately 85,000 more people in England will be eligible for the screening test annually.
The faecal immunochemical test (FIT) kit checks for blood in a small stool sample, which can be one of the signs of bowel cancer.
This move is the latest step in NHS goals to find cancers at an earlier stages when its easier to treat.
Steve Russell, National Director for Vaccinations and Screening at NHS England, said: “Lives are saved when cancers are caught early and the expansion of the NHS bowel cancer screening programme to those aged 50 will help to spot signs of bowel cancer soon, and potentially save thousands of lives.
The FIT kits are used at home by putting a stool sample in a small tubbe and returning it to the NHS by post so it can be tested. Those who have newly become eligible for the kits will recieve an invitation letter and sent the test with full instructions and a prepaid return packaging.
It will happen automatically for people in the new age group and results as well as any information about further testing, if required, are sent back to participants.
Steve Russell added: “We are seeing positive update of the home testing FIT kits, with over two thirds of those eligible returning their kits, but this drops off in the lower age grpupds and we want to see even more people taking up the offer.
According to the NHS, around two out of 100 people who use the kit will need further testing. However, it shared that the programme aims to diagnose bowel cancers at an earlier stages through regular screening and identifing the cancers at an earlier stage increases the chances of successful treatment and survival.
The FIT home testing kit is already made available through the NHS Bowel Cance Screen Programme to everyone aged between 54 and 74. People aged 75 and over can request for a kit by phoning the NHS bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60.