Bowel Screening

The home test checks for tiny amounts of blood in your poo - so small you wouldn’t see it yourself.

Some bowel cancers can bleed, which is why the test looks for blood.

Sometimes the blood can come from polyps. These are small lumps of cells in the bowel. They are not cancer, but they can turn into cancer over time. If polyps are found early, they can be removed easily.

Most people only need to complete the home testing kit. However, if your result suggests you may need further checks, you might be invited to a bowel screening appointment at the hospital. This helps specialists take a closer look at your bowel and decide if any treatment or follow‑up is needed.
You can find more information about what happens during a hospital bowel screening appointment here on the North Tees Hospital website.

If you have more questions about bowel screening, you can speak to your GP or visit the bowel cancer screening page on the GOV website for more information.

If you’re aged 50 to 74 and registered with a GP, you’ll be sent a free home test kit every 2 years. It comes in the post.

If you’re over 74, you can still get a test kit every 2 years – you just need to call 0800 707 60 60 and ask for one.

Think you should have had a kit but it hasn’t arrived?

Call the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60.

Your bowel cancer screening kit will arrive by post.

Inside the pack, you’ll find:

• a stick to collect your poo sample

• a small container to put the stick in

• an envelope to send it back

• easy-to-follow instructions

You’ll need something clean to catch your poo, try using a plastic tub or an old container. Make sure your poo doesn’t touch the toilet water.

Use the stick to gently scrape along the poo and collect a small sample.

Put the stick into the container and close it tightly. Don’t forget to write the date on the container.

Your kit will come with step-by-step instructions to guide you. You can also watch a video to help you feel more confident, visit the Vimeo website for more information.

You should get your results by post within about 2 weeks of sending your sample.

There are 2 possible results from your test:

You don’t need any more tests

This happens for about 98 out of every 100 people.
It means no blood was found in your sample. You don’t need to do anything else right now, and you’ll be sent another test kit in 2 years.

You need more tests

This happens for about 2 out of every 100 people.

It means blood was found in your sample. This doesn’t mean you have cancer, but it does mean you need more checks to find out what’s going on.

You’ll be offered an appointment to talk about having a test called a colonoscopy (a camera test to look inside your bowel). For more information, visit the colonoscopy page on the GOV website.

You can watch a video that explains what a colonoscopy is and what happens during the test. Visit YouTube to watch the video!

Bowel cancer screening can find cancer early, even in people who don’t have any symptoms. This is when treatment is more likely to work well.

Like all medical tests, there are some small risks.

Screening might:

• cause a problem during or after a test called a colonoscopy

• miss a cancer if it wasn’t bleeding when you did the home test

These things don’t happen often, but it’s important to be aware.

You can find more detailed information by watching the NHS bowel cancer testing video on Youtube, or by visiting the risks and benefits of bowel cancer screening page on the GOV website.

You can find more information on websites that are easy to use and full of helpful advice.

• The NHS website.

• The Bowel Cancer UK website.

• The Cancer Research UK website.

• The Macmillan website.

Or, you can get help by calling the free National Bowel Screening Helpline on 0800 707 6060