Local People to Benefit from Bowel Cancer Screening

Men and women in Surrey and parts of West Sussex and North East Hampshire are being invited to take part in the national screening programme for bowel cancer.

The Surrey Centre Bowel Cancer Screening Centre is one of the first centres to go live in the South East Coast region and opened its doors on Monday 29th September.  Over the next two years, everyone aged between 60 and 69 years, and registered with a GP in Surrey, will automatically be sent an invitation pack including a free test kit. 

The simple test provided can be done in privacy at home and comes with step by step instructions for completing the test and a specially-designed, pre-paid envelope to return the kit for analysis at the screening hub in Guildford. The laboratory analyses the samples, looking for tiny traces of blood that may be invisible to the naked eye. The test does not diagnose bowel cancer but, if positive, indicates that further investigation is required.

The pack also includes a leaflet called ‘Bowel Cancer Screening – The Facts’, to help people make an informed choice about whether or not to take up the opportunity of screening. 

The further investigation of those people with a positive test will be coordinated by the Surrey team based at the Centre’s Headquarters at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford. 

The programme’s Clinical Director and Consultant Colorectal Surgeon Mr John Stebbing said:

“Screening plays a vital role in the early diagnosis of bowel cancer and saves lives. The screening centre team are highly committed to making this screening programme a success and are looking forward to providing a quick, excellent and caring service for all those taking part whose test result is positive.  

“This is the first screening programme for both adult men and women and I want to urge anyone invited to take up the opportunity to be screened for bowel cancer.”

Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK, affecting more than 1 in 20 people, and the second commonest cause of cancer deaths with around 16,000 people dying every year. 80% of bowel cancers are diagnosed in people who are over 60 years old. The outcomes of treatment are excellent if bowel cancer is caught early and screening has been shown to save lives by detecting cancers at an earlier stage, especially if found before symptoms appear.

Further support or advice is available from the freephone helpline on 0800 707 60 60. People aged 70 and over will not automatically be sent an invitation to take part but they can request a test kit by calling the freephone helpline.

• Bowel cancer is also known as colon, rectal or colorectal cancer.
• Earlier diagnosis and treatment as a result of the new screening programme should mean thousands of lives are saved. Research has shown that screening for bowel cancer can reduce the death rate amongst those screened by 16%.
• The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is being introduced following the success of a pilot scheme in Coventry and Warwickshire.
• The test does not diagnose bowel cancer but gives an indication as to whether further investigations are required. An abnormal FOB test result can occur for a variety of reasons including piles (haemorrhoids) or stomach ulcers.
• All men and women aged over 60 are eligible for screening every two years. Those aged 60-69 and registered with a GP will be automatically invited.
• Further information on the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is available from www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk
• Local NHS organisations involved in the Surrey Bowel Cancer Screening Centre are: Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust, Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey Primary Care Trust, Hampshire Primary Care Trust and
• People found to have bowel cancer following a positive test result will ordinarily be referred for treatment by their local colorectal cancer multidisciplinary team based at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Frimley Park Hospital, Ashford St Peters Hospital, East Surrey Hospital or Epsom Hospital.

Lisa Ward, Head of Communications and Marketing, Royal Surrey County Hospital Tel:  01483 408337.