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Bowel cancer screening: benefits and risks

These information leaflets accompany bowel cancer screening invitations.

• From: NHS England
• Published: 1 February 2011
• Last updated: 22 July 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England

Documents

NHS bowel cancer screening: helping you decide

HTML

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 HTML format for print for people who cannot access digital information.

Instructions on how to use the home test kit are available in English and 30 other languages. There is also a short animation explaining how to use the kit with subtitled versions in English, British Sign Language and 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:
  • in an English language version
  • in the 10 other most requested languages

Translations of the leaflet are available.

To request another format, you can phone 0300 311 22 33 or email england.contactus@nhs.net.

Published 1 February 2011
Last updated 22 July 2024 + show all updates

1. 22 July 2024

   Added 30 new translations in HTML.

2. 3 July 2024

   Removed PHE screening helpdesk information and updated with NHS England contact details.

3. 21 June 2024

   Review of the bowel helping you decide information to improve readability.

4. 28 July 2022

   Updating confidentiality section, replacing mention of Public Health England with NHS England.

5. 3 March 2022

   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.'

6. 31 October 2021

   Addition of plain A4 PDF version for printing, to provide for people unable to access this information online.

7. 13 May 2021

   Added lifetime screening pathway animations to the landing page.

8. 15 September 2020

   Added information on using a textphone service to contact the screening programme helpline.

9. 4 August 2020

   Added animation to show how to use the home testing kit.

10. 7 June 2019

    Added leaflet relating to new FIT kit, accessible version of leaflet, and 10 translations.

11. 4 May 2017

    Addition of link to new audio version of leaflet

12. 1 February 2011

    First published.