Bowel cancer screening programme extended to people aged 58

Ottoline Spearman

The HSE has announced that the national bowel cancer screening programme has been extended to people aged 58.

BowelScreen is a free bowel cancer screening programme and was launched in October 2023.

This is the third expansion of the programme and makes screening available to men and women aged 58 to 70 - an estimate of 60,000 more people. People can expect their first invitation for bowel screening between their 58th and 60th birthday.

Around 110,000 people aged 59 and 70 have sent invitations by BowelScreen since 2023. The HSE will also be further expanding the screening programme to people aged 55 to 74.

Bowel screening aims to prevent bowel cancer from developing by detecting signs of bowel cancer at an early stage, where there are no symptoms, allowing for easier treatment and a better chance of recovery.

Around 2,500 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in Ireland every year. It is the second most common of all cancers in men and the third most common of all cancers in women in Ireland.

BowelScreen Clinical Director Professor Pádraic Mac Mathúna, said: “Our primary goal in BowelScreen is to reduce mortality from bowel cancer. We prevent cancers from developing by finding and removing small growths (called polyps), which can turn into cancer if left untreated.

"Every year, around 3,000 people have pre-cancerous growths removed because they did our BowelScreen test. These are all potential cancers prevented. In addition, if cancer is diagnosed through BowelScreen testing, it is more likely to be found at an early stage when treatment may lead to a better outcome.

“A screening test is not a diagnostic test – it looks for a level of blood in your sample. Not all cancers or polyps bleed all the time so a normal result does not guarantee that cancer isn’t present. This is why it is so important to be aware of symptoms of bowel cancer and go to your GP immediately, even if you had a recent normal screening result. Do not wait for your next screening test if you have any symptoms of bowel cancer.”

Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD said: "The inclusion of 58-year-olds in the latest phase will extend access to colorectal cancer screening to an additional 60,000 people across the country. I encourage all those eligible to take up their BowelScreen invitation, and to engage with our screening services."

People can use the new online system to check if they are registered with BowelScreen, provide their contact details, check when their next test is due and request a home test kit.

The new online register is the latest BowelScreen initiative aiming to increase participation in the screening programme. The most recent report shows an overall uptake rate of 46.4 per cent, which refers to those people invited over a two-year period who do the test and return it. However, 9 out of 10 people who do one BowelScreen test go on to do it again.

For more information, to check if registered and request a kit, people can go to hse.ie/bowelscreen or call 1800 45 55 55.