Bowel Cancer Screening Programme

The Lancashire Bowel Cancer Screening Programme
Health Promotion Team

What is the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme?

Bowel screening aims to find cancer early or to find changes in your bowel that could lead to cancer. The screening programmes send a free bowel screening test kit every 2 years to people aged 60 to 74 years who are registered with a GP. NHS England is gradually expanding the programme to people aged between 50 and 59, some people may now receive a test before they turn 60.

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK. Almost 43,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK. More than nine out of ten new cases (94%) are diagnosed in people over the age of 50. However, it is also one of the most treatable forms of cancer and can be cured if found in the earliest stages. One of the reasons why bowel cancer deaths are so high is because the symptoms go unnoticed until the disease is well developed. The aim of screening is to find signs of bowel problems before you even start to have symptoms. Detecting abnormalities early can save lives.

The Lancashire BCSP Health Promotion Team

The Community CVS are commissioned through NHS North West & NHS Lancashire BCSP to promote and improve uptake of bowel screening, to reduce inequalities in uptake by targeting action amongst population groups with low uptake. The Community CVS has set up the Lancashire BCSP Health Promotion Team, they have employed staff known as GP & Community Engagement Officers to deliver the project. The additional member of the team is the BCSP Health Promotion Specialist and is employed through NHS Lancashire BCSP

What Do We Do?

In order to raise awareness of the importance of bowel screening, the BCSP HP Team provide information & support at low uptake GP surgeries across Lancashire and South Cumbria. In Lancashire only we deliver BCSP training to frontline staff and members of the community, attend/deliver events and conferences working with key partners to increase the uptake of the bowel screening kits.

A range of publicity materials & presentations in English and a number of community languages have been developed in order to promote bowel screening throughout the diverse communities living in Lancashire.

For additional Information, please click on the links below (please note this section is currently under construction): –

Get in touch

For more information, please get in touch with our team.

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