Bowel cancer screening: benefits and risks
These information leaflets accompany bowel cancer screening invitations.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
This leaflet is sent out with all invitations to take part in bowel cancer screening.
Free printed copies of this leaflet are provided for the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme hubs (or their mail distributors) to send to people with screening invitations.
For more information, see the ‘order printed leaflets’ section of our guidance on how to access and order leaflets.
This information is also available in A4 PDF format (in English) to print out and provide for people who cannot access digital information (see list above).
Instructions on how to use the home test kit are available in English and 10 other languages. There is also a short animation explaining how to use the kit with subtitled versions in English, British Sign Language and 10 other languages.
Resources for people with a learning disability and people with low levels of literacy include:
- an easy guide
- simple animations showing screening tests offered to men and women throughout their lives, including bowel cancer screening:
Translations of the leaflet are available.
To request another format, you can phone 0300 311 22 33 or email england.contactus@nhs.net.
Updates to this page
Last updated 22 July 2024 + show all updates
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Added 30 new translations in HTML.
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Removed PHE screening helpdesk information and updated with NHS England contact details.
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Review of the bowel helping you decide information to improve readability.
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Updating confidentiality section, replacing mention of Public Health England with NHS England.
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Amending wording on risk to read: 'In rare cases, people have died following colonoscopy complications. However, the most recent published national colonoscopy audit recorded no deaths. The audit looked at 20,085 colonoscopies carried out for both screening and symptom investigations.'
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Addition of plain A4 PDF version for printing, to provide for people unable to access this information online.
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Added lifetime screening pathway animations to the landing page.
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Added information on using a textphone service to contact the screening programme helpline.
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Added animation to show how to use the home testing kit.
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Added leaflet relating to new FIT kit, accessible version of leaflet, and 10 translations.
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Addition of link to new audio version of leaflet
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First published.