Home-testing kit improves bowel cancer screening

Published on Thursday 5 February 2009 09:08

HEALTH bosses today said a screening scheme for bowel cancer is paying off, with 19 people receiving potentially life-saving early treatment after being sent a home-testing kit.

In a bid to encourage people to check themselves for the disease – the third most common cancer in Scotland – NHS Lothian decided to post the small packs to everyone in the area aged between 50 and 74.

Following initial analysis by the health board, it has emerged 19 people are now receiving treatment for the disease who otherwise would have had no idea they were sufferers.

It means instead of allowing it to spread throughout their body and possibly take their life, they can now give themselves a far better chance by tackling it early.

Dr Dermot Gorman, who is leading the new screening programme in the Lothians, said: "Our experience of the first few months of the programme in Lothian shows it's paying off.

"Catching cancer early is hugely important in subsequent successful treatment. I would urge anyone who receives a postal testing kit to please protect themselves by following the instructions and returning their sample as soon as they can.

"The test is easy to do and this screening programme will continue to save lives."

Additional staff were hired to deal with the rise in treatments following the postal campaign launch in May. By mid-2010, everyone in the area will have received a kit in that age-group, working out at about 8000 a month being sent out.

Over-75s were not included because health chiefs deemed it unreasonable to expect people of that age to be carrying out self-checks in that way.

Bowel – or colorectal – cancer killed 225 people in the Lothians in 2007, according to ISD Scotland figures. That is slightly less than 20 years ago, but prevalence has increased.

In 1980, there were 2635 diagnoses in the Lothians, but 25 years on that rose to 3412.

The kits are simple, and involve three sticks to be used at separate times and sent back to be analysed. A similar project in Tayside has won widespread praise since its launch.

Jim Miller, a 54-year-old planning consultant from the New Town, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2006. He was successfully operated on and is now in good health. He said: "This really shows the benefits of screening.

"It's not compulsory and is there to be used, so I would urge people not to just throw it in the bin. It may be slightly unpleasant (to use] but it is well worth it."

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