Bowel cancer screening

King’s Bowel Cancer Screening Centre is part of the national cancer screening programme. We see people from Lambeth and Southwark for routine bowel cancer screening.

If you’re aged between 50 and 74, and registered with a GP, you are sent a FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) kit every 2 years. If you’re over 74, you can request a kit (see ‘How to get a screening kit’ below).

The FIT kit looks for tiny traces of blood in your poo which could be a sign of cancer.

If your kit test result shows an abnormality, we will invite you to an appointment at King’s Bowel Cancer Screening Centre with a specialist screening practitioner.

About bowel cancer

Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is a general term for cancer that begins in the large bowel. Depending on where it starts, bowel cancer is sometimes called colon or rectal cancer. Visit the NHS website for more information.

Symptoms of bowel cancer include:

• bleeding from the bottom or blood in poo
• a change in normal bowel habit, such as looser poos or constipation
• a lump in the stomach
• a feeling of needing to strain the bottom even after pooing
• losing weight
• pain in the tummy (abdomen) or bottom
• tiredness or breathlessness caused by anaemia

If you present with these symptoms then speak to your GP immediately.

Bowel cancer screening pathways

1. Below age of 50 – symptomatic pathway

Experiencing any of these symptoms: bleeding from your bottom, blood in your poo, change in how often you poo, regular diarrhoea or constipation, sudden loss of weight without no apparent reason, feeling very tired without no apparent reason, a pain or lump in your tummy.

Please contact your GP and ask for an at-home test as soon as you can.

2. Aged 50 to 74 – age extension pathway

If you are between the ages between 50 and 74, you will receive a free Bowel Cancer Screening testing kit (every 2 years). If further investigations are needed you will be contacted by the Bowel Cancer Screening Team. If you have not received a testing kit, please call the free number 0800 707 6060 to order a free testing kit.

3. Aged 75 and above – self-referral pathway

If you are 75 and over you can order a testing kit via the freephone number 0800 707 6060 or you can talk directly to your GP. You can order a free testing kit every 2 years, but if you are experiencing any symptoms mentioned in the symptomatic pathway please contact your GP at the earliest convenience.

4. Lynch patients – Lynch surveillance pathway

If you are diagnosed with Lynch Syndrome, your GP will refer you to the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme Hub. You will be invited for a clinical assessment at a designated screening centre every two years. If you develop symptoms, you will be referred through the symptomatic pathway for a more comprehensive assessment.

About the FIT kit

The FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) is the updated home-testing kit that looks for blood in a sample of your poo. It is much more sensitive than the previous testing kit it replaces. It can detect smaller amounts of blood in the poo and will return fewer false positives. It also only needs one sample as well as having the ability to detect different amounts of blood in the poo.

How to use the kit

The FIT kit is very easy to use:

• catch the poo with a plastic container or bag
• twist the cap open on the bottle and scrape the stick along the poo
• put the stick back in the bottle and ‘click’ it shut
• put the bottle back in the box, sign and send it off

Results

Your results should be posted to you within two weeks of sending off your kit. If your results are negative, your GP will be informed and you will be sent a new test kit in two years.

If your results are positive, it doesn’t necessarily mean bowel cancer. It is usually haemorrhoids, but further investigation is needed to check. You will be invited to the hospital for a full bowel investigation, usually a colonoscopy.

How to get a screening kit

If you are aged between 50 and 74 and registered with a GP, you should receive a kit automatically every 2 years. If you have lost or misplaced your kit you can call your GP or the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60 to request a new one.

If you’re older than 74, then call the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60 to request a FIT kit.

Further resources

Watch the video below to find out more about bowel cancer screening.

• Bowel cancer screening: benefits and risks
• Bowel cancer screening – An easy guide
• Bowel cancer screening: colonoscopy
• Bowel cancer screening: having a colonoscopy – An easy guide
• Bowel cancer screening kit: how to use
• Using your bowel cancer screening kit (available in a number of languages)

Preparing for your appointment

Your first appointment at King’s Bowel Cancer Screening centre may take up to 45 minutes.

You will see one of our specialist screening practitioners (SSPs), who will talk you through the risks and benefits of screening and what to expect from the appointment.

They will give you advice and refer you for a colonoscopy, if suitable.

The SSP will also arrange your colonoscopy, which will take place after your first appointment.

Locations

• Specialist Screening Practitioner Clinic: Suite 3, Venetian building, King’s College Hospital, Caldecot Road, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS
• Colonoscopy appointments: Endoscopy Suite, Lower Ground Floor, Cheyne Wing, King’s College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS

Contact Details

• Main Reception: 020 3299 7601
• Administration team email: [email protected]
• Health promotion team email: [email protected]
• Health promotion team tel: 020 3299 1921
• National free bowel cancer screening helpline: 0800 707 60 60