Bowel screening programme

Why early detection is so important

Scientist Four in five people with bowel cancer detected at an early stage survive beyond five years. But if the tumour is very advanced when it's diagnosed, fewer than one in twenty people recover from it.

Most bowel cancers start off as harmless growths called adenomas. Doctors can find these adenomas through bowel screening, and remove them before they become full-blown cancers.

Cancer Research UK and the screening programme

When plans for the implementation of a national bowel screening programme ran into problems following financial difficulties within the NHS in 2006, Cancer Research UK put continued pressure on the Government which ensured that the funding for the programme was secured. Screening is now being gradually rolled out across the UK.

The bowel screening programme will be offered to both men and women in specific age ranges:

In England, people aged 60-69 will be screened every two years.
In Scotland, people aged 50-74 will be screened every two years.
In Wales, people aged 60-69 will be screened as of 2008, and people aged 70-74 will be screened from 2010 onwards.
In Northern Ireland, the age range for screening is still to be confirmed.

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