The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) is rolling out the next phase of its life-saving bowel cancer screening programme, with approximately 830,000 more people now eligible across England.
As part of this, NHS London has launched a life-saving campaign to encourage Black communities in London to complete their free NHS bowel cancer screening test, which checks if they could have bowel cancer.
Leading Black celebrities, Sean Fletcher and Kriss Akabusi are rallying behind the campaign, which encourages people in London who have been sent a free NHS bowel cancer screening home test to use it.
When 56-year-old Janet Murungi from Hackney, north London, received her NHS bowel cancer screening kit in the post, she waited a few days before she took it. As Chair of the Community African Network and a volunteer at her local GP surgery, Janet leads a busy life. “Then I reminded myself, good health is wealth, especially as one ages!” laughs Janet.
Janet Murungi
Janet Murungi
In the UK, 43,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year. Screening can prevent bowel cancer or find it at an early stage when it’s easier to treat, and research shows that those who complete their test are 25% less likely to die. However, uptake of bowel cancer screening is lower in London than the rest of England, particularly among ethnic minority communities.
When completing her test, Janet was surprised by how quick and easy it was. “The instructions were very straightforward,” says Janet. “It’s very easy to do - you just follow a few simple steps and you’re done!”
Janet sent her sample off using the pre-paid envelope provided. “I prayed for it to be fine,” says Janet, who felt a huge sense of relief when her results came back. Janet enjoys spending time with her family and is committed to maintaining her good health. Since completing her free NHS bowel cancer screening test, she has been encouraging others in her community to do the same.
“No matter what, you must not ignore your test,” says Janet. “Bowel cancer screening saves lives. It means you can get investigated if something doesn’t look right. I encourage everyone to be safe and do their test as soon as they get it.”
Bowel cancer screening saves lives. For further information about the campaign in London, visit https://www.healthylondon.org/BCS
Fact file
The Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) kit is available for people aged 56 to 74 as part of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.
To do the test, simply use the kit to collect a small sample of your stool and send it to the lab - no stamp required. The sample is checked for tiny amounts of blood.
The NHS FIT kit for Bowel Cancer screening
The NHS FIT kit for Bowel Cancer screening
Blood can be a sign of polyps or bowel cancer. Polyps are growths in the bowel. They are not cancer but may turn into cancer over time.
About 98 out of 100 people who use their NHS bowel cancer screening kit need no further tests.
If you have symptoms of bowel cancer at any age, you should always see a GP, even if you have recently completed an NHS bowel cancer screening test.