Bowel cancer screening

Bowel cancer is the third most common type of cancer. Screening can help prevent bowel cancer or find it at an early stage, when it's easier to treat. This is why it's important that anyone that receives a bowel cancer screening kit uses it.

As of September 2024, everyone aged 50 to 74 years who is registered with a GP and lives in England is automatically sent an NHS bowel cancer screening kit every two years.

Only those registered with a GP will automatically be sent a kit, so we recommend registering with a GP if you are not already and checking your postal address is correct.

The NHS bowel cancer screening kit used in England is the faecal immunochemical test kit, known as the FIT kit. You collect a small sample of poo on a small plastic stick and put it into the sample bottle and post it to a lab for testing.

There are instructions that come with the kit.  You can also watch NHS videos showing you how to use your screening kit, and read NHS bowel cancer screening kit instructions in a range of languages on the Government's website.

Your test result should be posted to you within one to two weeks of sending off your kit.

There are two types of result:

1. No further tests needed
2. Further tests needed

NHS have more details about what each result means.

You can get involved with the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in a number of ways to improve your own health and support the wider screening programme.

• Gut Health and Wellbeing for those aged 50+ (PDF)
• Join us in improving bowel cancer screening participation (PDF)