A new drive to help beat bowel cancer has been unveiled by Health Minister Rosie Winterton. Beginning in April 2006, men and women aged 60-69 will be offered screening every two years for a disease that kills 16,000 a year, yet if caught early, has a survival rate of 90%.
Government pledges bowel cancer action
The programme will cost £37.5 million in its first two years of roll-out. It is the first time such a programme will operate in England and one of the first of its kind in Europe.
Home testing kits will be sent to around two million people in the target group each year to enable them to do the test in the privacy of their own homes. The person then sends the kit back to a laboratory where it will be analysed.
Rosie Winterton said: “Preventing cancer and improving services for those who develop the disease is a priority for the Government. The NHS has already made significant progress in reducing deaths from bowel cancer, with mortality rates falling by 17% over the last ten years. The roll-out of the national screening programme for bowel cancer that I am announcing will help save even more lives.
“Because of the nature of the disease, people can feel uncomfortable talking about it, let alone coping with the symptoms. That is why the privacy and dignity that the home testing kits afford will help us better tackle the disease.”
