Dame Deborah got us talking about bowel cancer and did a huge amount to raise awareness of its symptoms. We are therefore very pleased to be working with NHS London to urge more people to do their free NHS bowel cancer screening home test, which checks if you could have bowel cancer
Prevention is better than cure and everyone aged 56 to 74 in London is now sent a free NHS FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) kit every two years. You use it to collect a small sample of poo and post it back for testing. It is for people with no symptoms.
The campaign by NHS London, “Your next poo could save your life”, urges more people to use their kit – a message we wholeheartedly endorse.
By April 2025, bowel cancer screening kits will be routinely sent to everyone aged 50 to 74 in England.
To find out more and hear from other Londoners about their experience of bowel cancer screening, visit www.healthylondon.org/bcs.
If you have symptoms of bowel cancer which last for three weeks or more, please contact your GP practice.
Symptoms of bowel cancer include:
a persistent change in bowel habit – pooing more often, with looser, runnier poos and sometimes tummy pain
blood in the poo without other symptoms of piles (haemorrhoids)
abdominal pain, discomfort or bloating always brought on by eating.
Screening can help prevent bowel cancer or find it at an early stage when it is easier to treat so we are urging all Londoners to do their bowel cancer screening home test as soon as they are sent it.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Anthony Cunliffe, Joint Clinical Director South East London Cancer Alliance
Dr Rob Palmer, City and Hackney Integrated Care Partnership Cancer Lead
Dr Abhijit Singh Gill, Royal Marsden Partners Primary Care Clinical Director
Dr Clare Stephens, Co-Clinical Director North Central London Cancer Alliance
Dr Tania Anastasiadis, Tower Hamlets GP Cancer Lead
