Bowel cancer screening
Bowel cancer screening
Bowel cancer screening saves lives
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer affecting Australians and the second leading cause of cancer-related death.
If you are 45 or over, you are at higher risk of bowel cancer.
Bowel cancer can develop with no symptoms. The cancer can grow in the bowel for years before spreading to other parts of the body.
If detected early, bowel cancer can be successfully treated.
Screening for bowel cancer in people aged 45-74 who do not have any symptoms, helps to find cancer early.
Who is eligible for bowel cancer screening?
Screening is available for eligible people between 45 and 74 years via the
National Bowel Cancer Screening
Program
External Link
.
Age is the biggest risk factor for bowel cancer. Generally, your first kit will arrive within the first 6 months of your 50
th
birthday and then every 2 years after that.
If you are between the age of 45-49, you can
request your first free bowel screening
kit
External Link
to be mailed to you.
To find out when you will receive a free bowel cancer screening test, contact the
National Cancer Screening
Register
External Link
on
1800 627 701
.
If you have a family history of bowel cancer, please talk to your GP about what screening options are right for you.
Make an appointment with your GP if you have any symptoms (such as unusual changes in your bowel habits or bleeding from the bowel).
How do I complete the screening test?
The bowel screening home test kit is easy to do. It has detailed instructions that tell you how to do the test. This involves taking tiny samples from 2 separate bowel motions (poo).
Once you do the test, send it back in the mail and it will go to a laboratory to be analysed.
If you need help doing the test, call the Bowel Cancer Screening Test Hotline on
1800 930 998
.
What happens once I have done the test?
You will get your results after about 2 weeks. It is very natural to feel anxious while waiting to get your results. It can help to talk to a close friend or relative about how you are feeling.
You can also contact Cancer Council on
13 11 20
and speak with a cancer nurse.
Negative result for the bowel cancer screening test
A negative result means that blood was not detected in your bowel movement.
This does not mean you will never get bowel cancer or that you definitely do not have cancer because:
Some bowel cancers don’t bleed, or only bleed sometimes.
The bowel cancer screening test detects most (up to 85%) but not all bowel cancers.
This is why it is important to do the screening test every 2 years between 45 and 74.
If you receive a negative result but notice
bowel cancer symptoms
such as unusual changes in your bowel habits or bleeding from the bowel, visit your doctor.
Positive result for the bowel cancer screening test
A positive result means that blood was detected in your bowel movement (poo). Contact your doctor immediately to discuss the result and obtain a referral for further investigation, which is likely to be a
colonoscopy
.
The presence of blood in your bowel movement does not always mean you have cancer. There are lots of reasons why you could have blood in your poo –such as:
polyps
haemorrhoids
inflammation of the bowel from conditions such as
Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis
).
Even so, you will need further investigation to identify the cause of the bleeding. Having a colonoscopy may enable:
The cause of the bleeding to be found.
Any polyps to be removed.
A diagnosis of bowel cancer to be confirmed (if applicable).
Where to get help
Your
GP (doctor)
Local community health centre
National Cancer Screening
Register
External Link
(to find out when you will receive a bowel screening test or update your contact details) Tel.
1800 627 701
Bowel Cancer Screening Test Hotline (for help doing the test) Tel.
1800 930 998
Cancer Council
Victoria
External Link
Tel.
13 11 20
(to speak to someone in a language other than English call
13 14 50
and ask to speak to Cancer Council)
Cancer Council Victoria,
My Cancer
Guide
External Link
- Find support services that are right for you.