'Your next poo could save your life' advises doctor representing Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire

A doctor representing Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire is reminding people a simple NHS home-testing bowel cancer kit could save lives.

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK. However, the number of people dying has fallen in recent decades, with earlier diagnosis being the key. Despite this, data shows almost one third of people who were sent an NHS bowel cancer screening kit in England last year did not go on to complete it.

And an NHS campaign is hoping to change this.

Dr Sarah Whiteman, Chief Medical Director at Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, is among those promoting the campaign.

She said: “The NHS bowel cancer screening kit detects signs of cancer before you notice anything wrong. Detecting bowel cancer at the earliest stage makes you up to nine times more likely to be successfully treated. So, if you're aged 56 to 74 and are registered with a GP practice, you’ll be sent a kit in the post automatically, every two years.

“The kit is quick to complete and can be done in the privacy of your own bathroom using the step-by-step instructions on the box. You only need to collect one tiny sample of poo using the plastic stick provided, pop it in the sample bottle and post it for free to be tested.

“If something is found, you will be invited to have further tests, usually at a hospital.”

The test works by checking for tiny traces of blood which may not be visible to the naked eye. Blood in poo is one of the signs of bowel cancer although it does not always mean cancer. Instead, it could be a sign of piles or polyps - growths in the bowel. Polyps are not cancer but could develop into cancer over time.

The lower age limit for bowel cancer test kits is set to be reduced to 50 from 2025. Those who are sent the kit are encouraged to put it by the toilet so they remember to complete it.