Deadly bowel cancer cases MISSED as a third of Brits ignore vital checks

Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK – there are 46,500 new cases every year.

Plus, 17,700 people die of the disease every year, while 54 per cent of cases are preventable, Cancer Research UK says.

To help slash cases, people in England aged between 50 and 74 are sent a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) every two years.

It looks for blood in a sample of stool, collected at home and sent via post.

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But the national uptake average across the country is just 71 per cent, according to Bowel Cancer UK, meaning 29 per cent are not doing it.

The charity examined the latest screening data from NHS integrated care boards (ICBs).

NHS Devon ICB had the highest screening uptake at 76 per cent, while NHS North West London ICB had the lowest uptake at 56 per cent.

All the ICBs in greater London fell below 71 per cent.

However, England still has the highest average of people taking part in screening compared to other UK nations: Scotland (65.7 per cent), Wales (65.5 per cent) and Northern Ireland (67.3 per cent).

Previous research has shown a disparity in uptake between the most and least deprived areas.

If uptake among the most deprived groups increased to 67 per cent, approximately 255 more cancers would be diagnosed and treated every year, the Government has previously said.

Genevieve Edwards, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, urged anyone who receives their FIT test to complete it and return it as soon as possible.

She said: “While there’s been great work to date when it comes to people taking part in bowel cancer screening, these figures show that there’s still room to improve screening uptake even further.

“Bowel cancer is the UK’s fourth most common cancer, but screening is one of the best ways to spot the disease early or remove polyps that might develop into cancer.

“The earlier bowel cancer is found, the more treatable it’s likely to be, with more than nine in 10 people surviving the disease when diagnosed at the earliest stage.

“This Bowel Cancer Awareness Month [April], we want everyone who receives their free bowel cancer screening test to complete and return it as soon as possible.”

‘No symptoms – but test found cancer’

Emma Baker, from Liverpool, was diagnosed with bowel cancer on 4th February 2025 after having a colonoscopy. 

Shortly after her 50th birthday, she received her first screening test. She completed it and was diagnosed with stage 2 bowel cancer. This was despite her previously having no symptoms at all.

Six weeks later, she had an operation to remove her tumour. She is now in remission and doing well.

“If you receive the FIT test in the post, please do take it,” Emma said. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, and it could save your life.”

Bowel cancer screening was introduced in England in 2006.

The age of screening was reduced from 60 years old to 50 after The Sun’s No Time To Lose campaign, led by Dame Deborah James, who died of the disease in 2022, aged 44.

After the mum-of-two was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer in 2016, aged just 35, she tirelessly campaigned to raise awareness around the disease, including it’s five key symptoms.

Before her death, she raised more than £16million for research into the disease and became known for telling everyone to “check your poo”.

The risk of getting bowel cancer gets higher as you get older.

However, cases of the killer disease have been growing in people under 50 years old, research suggests.

Symptoms of bowel cancer include a change in toilet habits, such as going more often or less, diarrhoea or constipation.

It also includes blood in the stool (or on toilet paper), tummy pain or a lump, losing weight without trying or feeling very tired.