Millions more people are benefiting from NHS bowel screening compared with a decade ago, and health leaders are urging even more to take part.
Almost 7 million people had bowel screening in 2024/25, up from about 4.7 million in 2014/15. Since the programme began around 20 years ago, nearly 85 million people have been screened, leading to around 70,000 cancers being detected and about 270,000 people placed under regular surveillance after being identified as higher risk.
The programme has been expanded and improved since it began in 2006 for people in their 60s. It is now offered to everyone aged 50 to 74, and uptake has risen from roughly half of eligible people two decades ago to more than seven in 10 last year. The NHS sends about 8.7 million home-testing kits each year.
The kit, known as the faecal immunochemical test (FIT), looks for blood in a small stool sample. It is completed at home by placing a tiny sample into a tube and returning it by post for laboratory testing. Finding blood does not always mean cancer, but it triggers further checks such as a colonoscopy.
England’s National Cancer Plan commits to delivering 17,000 earlier diagnoses by 2035 and estimates the home-testing programme could save almost 6,000 lives. NHS clinical leaders say easier access to screening and higher participation rates mean cancers are being picked up earlier when they are easier to treat.
A patient from Cornwall described receiving her FIT kit by post as life-saving. After returning her sample she was contacted within a week, referred for a colonoscopy and diagnosed early. She now manages a stoma but says the early detection made all the difference and urges others to do the test when they receive it.
Ministers and cancer charities reiterate the same message: the test takes only minutes, is done at home, and can prevent deaths by spotting cancer early or identifying precancerous polyps. They also stress that anyone of any age who notices symptoms such as bleeding from the bottom, blood in stool, or persistent changes in bowel habits should contact their GP for advice and testing.
The NHS and charities continue to encourage everyone eligible to complete their screening kit when invited, because screening remains one of the most effective ways to catch bowel cancer early and improve outcomes.