Bowel Cancer Screening

Welcome to the home of Bowel Cancer Screening in the East of England

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital was one of the first sites in the country to introduce the new national screening programme to help detect bowel cancer at an early stage when treatment is more likely to be effective.

Patients between the ages of 60 and 74 and registered with a GP in Norfolk, are invited to take part in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

Those patients who would like to take part who are aged 75 and over, are able to call a Freephone helpline on 0800 707 60 60 and request a kit.

People are sent a simple test kit to complete in the privacy of their home. This involves collecting a small sample from three separate bowel motions and, using a specially designed prepaid envelope, returning the kit to the laboratory for analysis.

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 gives an indication as to whether further investigations are required.

If you need further investigation you will be seen by the bowel cancer screening team at NNUH.

The Bowel Cancer Screening – The Facts leaflet provides further background information.