The Department of Health and Social Careis supporting the UK’s ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ bowel cancer screening campaign.
The campaign launched across the North West on Monday 9 January and will run until the end of March 2017. In support of this the Isle of Man will be raising awareness locally throughout March.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of, and promote participation in, the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme among those who are eligible to participate (i.e. 60 - 74 year olds). People in this age bracket who are registered with a GP will receive an NHS bowel cancer screening kit through the post, every two years. Bowel cancer screening is a simple and private test that can be done at home. It is designed to detect early signs of bowel cancer.
The key message of the campaign is “This little kit could save your life”, and is supported by secondary messages such as the test "is meant for people with no symptoms" and “it can find bowel cancer at an early stage, when it is easier to treat successfully” which aim to overcome some common misconceptions about bowel screening.
Adverts have been appearing on TV (ITV), in regional newspapers and personal stories of people who have taken part in bowel cancer screening have been added to feeds on Facebook.
Anne Mackie, Director of Screening at Public Health England, explained:
'It is important that we raise awareness of the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme and highlight that screening is a choice.'
- Every year, 2,000 people aged 60 – 74 are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the North West and 600 people of the same age in the region will die from the disease*
- Bowel cancer screening has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from bowel cancer by 16 per cent** When bowel cancer is diagnosed at the earliest stage, more than 9 in 10 people will survive the disease for more than 5 years.
Dr Henrietta Ewart, Director of Public Health, is supporting the campaign and explained:
'I recommend that patients complete their bowel cancer screening test when it arrives through the post because it’s one of the best ways to find bowel cancer early, when it’s easier to treat successfully.
'I also encourage everyone to read the leaflet sent with their test kit, to help them decide whether to take part because bowel cancer screening is a personal choice.'
More information is available on the Cancer Research UK website and the Isle of Man Government Cancer Screening webpage. Alternatively call the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Helpline on Freephone 0800 707 60 60.
References:
*Based on the average annual number of cases of and deaths from bowel cancer (ICD10 C18-20) in people aged 60-74 in the North West region between 2012 and 2014. This data was extracted from the Public Health England’s Cancer Analysis System, snapshot CAS1507. Accessed 03/01/2017.
**Hewitson P et al 'Screening for colorectal cancer using the faecal occult blood test Hemmoccult'. Cochrane Database System Review. 2007.
