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A bowel cancer screening programme that helps detect cancers and pre-cancerous growths early has now been extended to patients over 55 in Northamptonshire.

The screening expansion is part of national plans to roll out screening in stages to all patients over 50 by 2025. 

From the end of March all individuals over the age of 55 are being invited for screening at Kettering and Northampton general hospitals as part of collaborative work by the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group.

Screening Director for Northamptonshire, Dr Andy Dixon, said: “Nationally the plan is for screening centres to keep reducing the eligible age for screening in their local areas to make it available to more people.

“In Northamptonshire we have now extended our screening to people aged over 55 - or to put it another way people aged 56 and above.

“Bowel screening is an excellent way of detecting cancer early and gives doctors a much better chance of treating serious conditions like cancer effectively.”

Since its launch in 2008 the local programme has screened more than 624,000 people in Northamptonshire and its surrounding areas.

It has detected some 1,177 cancers and removed more than 20,000 polyps – growths which can be the precursor to bowel cancer.

David shows why it is so important to do your screen

David Pateman, 65, from Stanwick, had a colonoscopy in April 2022 after taking part in the bowel screening programme.

As a result he had five polyps removed from his bowel, one of which was found to be cancerous.

He said: “After my camera procedure I had further tests and a CT scan and I then had a bowel resection where the affected part of the bowel was removed is then stapled back together. I was very well looked after by the endoscopy team and the follow-up tests showed I don’t need further treatment.

“I think the bowel cancer screening programme is an excellent idea and it only takes a few moments to do the initial sample. I have heard people say they have just thrown the testing kit away - but why would you do that when a diagnosis and early treatment could save your life?”

Mr Pateman is also supporting further research into bowel cancer.

Dr Dixon said: “Bowel cancer is treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early.

“Nearly everyone survives bowel cancer if diagnosed at the earliest stage. However this drops significantly as the disease develops. Early diagnosis really does save lives and it is very important to take part in screening.

“It will give you peace of mind and – in the unlikely event it detects a problem – it will help you get the treatment you need as soon as possible.”

How screening is carried out

People age over 55 – who are registered with a GP – in Northamptonshire will receive a screening invitation through the post and then be sent a testing pack.

The pack includes a small sealable container in which they can give a stool sample which is then sent off to a regional screening laboratory.

If there is an indication of a possible problem (eg blood found in the stool) people are invited to Kettering or Northampton general hospital for a further investigation which may be followed by a colonoscopy examination.

This involves using a thin flexible tube called an endoscope, which has a camera capacity, to examine their bowel.

More than nine out of ten new cases of bowel cancer (94%) are diagnosed in people over the age of 50. https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/about-bowel-cancer/bowel-cancer/

One in 15 men and 1 in 18 women will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime. It is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths, with over 16,800 people dying from it each year.

 What is the purpose of bowel cancer screening?

• Around 98 in 100 people will receive a normal result and will be returned to routine screening. They will be invited for bowel cancer screening every two years if still within the eligible age range.
• Around 2 in 100 people will receive an abnormal result. They will be referred for further investigation and they will usually offered a colonoscopy.
• Regular bowel cancer screening has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from bowel cancer by 16 per cent.