Coxhoe Village Hall promotes healthy living

March 22, 2017 - News - no comments

Wellbeing for Life – Bowel Cancer Screening: Have you received your kit?

The County Durham Wellbeing for Life service is working in the local community to promote bowel cancer screening and encourage men and women to take part.Wellbeing for Life are working in partnership with local GP surgeries and community venues to give men and women in County Durham the opportunity to find out more about bowel cancer screening.

1 in 14 men and 1 in 19 women will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime. There were 41,300 new cases of bowel cancer in the UK in 2014.

The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme invites all men and women aged between 60 and 74 for screening every 2 years. You need to be registered with a GP to receive the screening kit. If you are older than 74, you can still have screening every 2 years but you won’t automatically be invited. To receive a screening kit after the age of 74, phone 0800 707 60 60.

People younger than 60 aren’t eligible for the bowel cancer screening test, but can have bowel scope screening. It is important to know your body and get checked out if anything changes that is not normal for you. If you have symptoms, are worried about a family history of bowel cancer, or worried about your bowel health in any way, speak to your GP.

Vicki Moffat, Wellbeing Coordinator said ‘The bowel cancer screening kit is a home test kit and checks for the presence of blood in a poo sample. It has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from bowel cancer by 16%. You carry out the test in the privacy of your own home and a full set of instructions come with the kit. It may sound a bit unpleasant to do, but it could save your life.’

Bowel cancer screening aims to find cancers early. Very early bowel cancers are usually easier to treat, may need less treatment, and are more likely to be cured It is important to take part in your bowel screening whenever you receive the kit.