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What is bowel cancer screening?

Bowel cancer screening detects early signs of bowel cancer in individuals who do not yet show symptoms. The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) invites eligible Australians aged 45 to 74 to screen for bowel cancer using a simple at-home test called an immunochemical faecal occult blood test (iFOBT).  The test is free for people aged 45 to 74 and can be done completely hygienically.

This life saving process is quick, simple, and completed at home.

Why do the bowel cancer screening test?

Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in Australia.  It affects men and women and is the second leading cause of cancer death. Millions of Australians screen for the disease every year.

As you age, your chance of developing bowel cancer rises. Bowel cancer risk increases significantly after that the age of 45.

Bowel cancer screening can find bowel cancers early, before symptoms develop, significantly increasing the chance of successful treatment.

Regular bowel cancer screening is important as bowel cancer can occur without obvious symptoms or any family history. With regular bowel cancer screening, changes or abnormalities in the bowel can be identified, including the presence of polyps, which can eventually develop into cancer if left untreated.

Who is eligible for National Bowel Cancer Screening Program?

You are eligible to do the free screening test every two years if you:

  • are aged between 45 and 74
  • have a Medicare card and entitlement type of either Australian citizen, permanent migrant or register as a Department of Veteran Affairs customer
  • have an Australian mailing address.

If you are aged 45 to 49, you can request your first free kit at www.ncsr.gov.au/boweltest or by calling the National Cancer Screening Register on 1800 627 701,  or alternatively you can speak to your doctor or health care professional about getting a kit. Your next kit will automatically be mailed every two years after your screening test is completed.

People aged 50 to 74 will automatically receive their free kit in the mail every two years. If you have lost or misplaced your kit, you can request a replacement kit at www.ncsr.gov.au/boweltest or by calling the National Cancer Screening Register on 1800 627 701. Alternatively, you can speak to your doctor or health care professional about getting a kit.

How does the bowel cancer screening test work?

The bowel cancer screening test is easy to use and can be completed at home. You need to take a small sample from two separate bowel movements. This means you’ll need to go to the toilet twice to poo and take a sample each time. Collect the two samples as close together as you can. This screening test looks for traces of blood in each sample which are invisible to the naked eye and could be a sign of bowel cancer.

What’s included in the bowel cancer home screening kit?

The mail out kit has everything you need to do the test in your home, including:

  • detailed instructions
  • 2 X flushable toilet liners
  • 2 X collection tubes and sticks
  • 1 X sanitary zip lock bag
  • 1 X reply-paid envelope
  • 1 X participant details form

Once completed, place your labelled collection tubes in the provided sanitary zip lock bag and, along with your filled-out participant details form, place into the reply-paid envelope. A pathology laboratory will then analyse your sample and check for blood in your poo.

How to take a bowel cancer screening test

Understand the bowel cancer screening test in your language

Click the link for information in additional languages

What do your results mean?

A positive test result

Contact your doctor or health care professional to discuss your results and next steps. If your test results are positive, this means there is blood in your sample. Any blood in your poo does need to be investigated to understand the cause.

A negative test result

Means that no blood was detected in your sample. Because bowel cancer can develop at any time, even if you have a negative result, you still need to test again in two years.

An inconclusive test result

This doesn’t mean anything is wrong, it just means the laboratory was not able to analyse the sample. It is best to follow up with the National Cancer Screening Register if you receive an inconclusive result or your results have not been received within four weeks.

Important things to remember:

  1. About one in 14 people will have a positive iFOBT result. A positive test result doesn’t mean that you have bowel cancer – it means you need to do more tests to check for bowel cancer.
  2. Blood in your sample may be caused by several conditions, including polyps, haemorrhoids or inflammation. Most positive iFOBT results are not caused by cancer.
  3. If you develop any bowel symptoms between screening tests, it’s important to speak to your doctor or health care professional. If you’re confused, worried or have more questions, speak to a doctor or health care professional.
  4. If you have not received your results within four weeks, contact the National Cancer Screening Register

Aged 50 to 74?

Lost or misplaced your kit? Order a replacement kit

Aged 45 to 49?

Request your bowel cancer screening kit to be mailed to you

Are you a health professional?

View our bowel cancer screening resources for health professionals.

Frequently asked questions

Current guidelines do not recommend a ‘one-size-fits-all’ population-scale approach to screening for people outside the target age range of 45 to 74. Instead, it is recommended that those aged outside the eligible age range speak to their doctor or health care professional to discuss their screening options.

If you are aged 50 to 74 and have not received a bowel screening test kit, check that your Medicare details are up to date and call the National Cancer Screening Register on 1800 627 701. Alternatively, you can reorder a test kit here.

If you are aged 45 to 49, you can now join the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program by requesting your first free bowel screening kit by completing a webform or calling 1800 627 701.

Bowel cancer can develop without any obvious symptoms. This is why it is important to do the screening test.

If symptoms do appear, they can include:

  • blood in your poo, or in the toilet bowl;
  • a recent and ongoing change in your toilet habits. This includes looser poos, very bad constipation and/or if you need to poo more often than usual;
  • unusual tiredness or weight loss;
  • stomach pain.

If you notice any of these symptoms, speak to your doctor or health care professional.

If you have a significant family history of bowel cancer, it’s important to speak to your doctor or health care professional. Knowing who in your family had bowel cancer and the age they were diagnosed, can help your doctor or health care professional assess your risk. It may also be helpful for your doctor or health care professional to know if you have a family history of any other cancers.

You may have a significant family history of bowel cancer if:

  • a close relative (parent, brother, sister or child) had bowel cancer at a young age (under 55 years); or
  • more than one close relative in your family has had bowel cancer at any age.

It is important to know that more than 75 per cent of people with bowel cancer do not have a family history. If you have a significant family history of bowel cancer, it’s important to seek advice from doctor or health care professional on the best approach to risk management and screening. Knowing which of your relatives has had bowel cancer and the ages at which they were diagnosed can help your doctor or health care professional estimate your risk. It may also be helpful for your doctor or health care professional to know if you have a family history of any other cancers.

The program only collects test results from within Australia.

Visit the National Cancer Screening Register website to change your screening date. You can also select to not be part of the program while you are overseas.

When you return to Australia, you can start the program again at any time.

Find out more about bowel cancer

If you have your own bowel cancer screening story to share or any questions, please contact bowel@cancerwa.asn.au