Bowel Cancer Screening: Who Should Do It & When?

It's bowel cancer awareness month and we want you to know that there's a simple way to check for - and catch - this deadly disease in the early stages.

How serious is bowel cancer?

Bowel cancer is a life-threatening disease. Survival rates are highest when the disease is caught early - 90% of people survive if bowel cancer is caught in stage 1. This drops to 10% at a stage 4 diagnosis. This is why regular bowel screening is so important.

Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK, and rates have increased over 11% in the years from 2001 to 2023.

If you notice any consistent changes in bowel habits, bloody stool or unexplained weight loss, speak to a GP.

Bowel cancer is increasingly affecting younger people

According to Cancer Research UK, bowel cancer incidence rates have increased overall in most broad age groups in females and males combined in the UK since the early 1990s, but have remained stable in others. Rates in 0-24s have increased by 98%, rates in 25-49s have increased by 62%, rates in 50-59s have remained stable, rates in 60-74s have increased by 2%, rates in 75-79s have remained stable, and rates in 80+s have increased by 3%.

Some of these increases may be the result of better diagnostic tools that can detect bowel cancer early. When found as a stage 1 or 2 cancer, where it has not spread to any other organs or nearby lymph nodes, survival outcomes are much higher.

The importance of bowel cancer screening

Bowel cancer can develop silently, especially in its early stages. Symptoms may be mild or mistaken for other conditions.

Symptoms of bowel cancer include:

Changes in bowel habits
Blood in the stool
Unexplained weight loss
Abdominal discomfort

While most symptoms are not caused by cancer, checking them early can make a significant difference if something serious is present. This is why screening programmes and early investigation of symptoms are so important.

ColoAlert Bowel Cancer Screening

ColoAlert is a sensitive and accurate bowel cancer screening test that can be used at home. It detects tumor markers and hidden blood in the stool for a more comprehensive screening than FIT only testing (which is what the NHS offers). The test can be taken by anyone as it’s completely non-invasive. Simply swab a stool sample and post the kit with the shipping instructions included.

The makers of the test hope that ColoAlert will move beyond detection to the prevention of colorectal cancer.

It’s not taboo to swab your poo

Pall Mall Medical are taking to the streets of Manchester to raise awareness of bowel cancer. The company’s Poo Protest, now in its fourth year, will see the usual takeover of the city’s streets - and this year, they could be running a route near you.

“Early detection is vital for better long term outcomes and quality of life,” Dr Tang says. “When bowel cancer is found in the early stages, it improves the success rate of treatment and leads to better long term outcomes.”

What are the biggest risk factors for bowel cancer?

The biggest risk factors for bowel cancer include:

Obesity / BMI > 30
A diet high in sugar and fat
High consumption of red / processed meat and Ultra Processed Foods
Consumption of tobacco/alcohol
Chronic bowel diseases
Breast cancer
Type 2 diabetes
Aged over 50

Having one or more risk factors does not mean you will develop bowel cancer, but it may increase the importance of screening and early assessment of symptoms.