Bowel screening

A simple home test could save your life

Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the second biggest cause of cancer death in Australia.

Tragically, bowel cancer claims the lives of 100 Australians each week. But it doesn't have to.

Up to 90% of bowel cancers can be successfully treated if they are found early.

If you’re aged 45 to 74, then you are eligible to do a bowel screening test every two years through the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.

What you’ll find on this page:

How the bowel cancer screening test works

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program invites people aged 45 to 74 to screen for bowel cancer using a free, simple test at home.

Bowel screening is for people who are healthy and without any obvious symptoms of bowel cancer.

Screening can save lives by detecting the early signs of bowel cancer. It can also prevent bowel cancer, by detecting polyps or growths before they develop into cancer.

The bowel screening test, known as a faecal occult blood test (FOBT), looks for traces of blood in your poo that are invisible to the human eye and can be a sign of bowel cancer. The test requires you to collect small samples from two separate poos. Collect the two samples as close together as you can.

Watch the video below to see how the test works.

Learn about the test

Who can receive the bowel cancer screening kit?

People aged between 50 and 74 receive a free home bowel cancer screening test kit in the mail every two years, as part of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. The test kit will arrive at the address listed on your Medicare card.

Generally, your first test kit will arrive within the first six months of your 50th birthday and then every two years from when you last returned the test.

People aged 45 to 49 are now eligible to screen with the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program and access a free screening test kit every two years. Eligible people aged 45 to 49 will be able to join the Program by requesting their first bowel screening kit at www.ncsr.gov.au/boweltest or by calling the National Cancer Screening Register on 1800 627 701. All eligible people aged 45 to 74 can also ask their doctor about getting a free test kit.

Your next test kit will automatically be mailed every two years after your last screening test is completed.

To learn more visit National Bowel Cancer Screening Program | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.

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Finding bowel cancer early can save your life

If bowel cancer is found early, more than 90 per cent of cases can be successfully treated.

Bowel cancer can develop with no symptoms or family history. This means that doing regular screening is important, even if you feel well and live a healthy lifestyle.

If you have a family history of bowel cancer, speak to your doctor.

If you have symptoms like unexplained blood in your poo, a change in bowel habit, such as diarrhoea, constipation or smaller, more frequent poos, unexplained tiredness or weight loss, stomach pain or swelling, speak to your doctor.

Find more information about bowel cancer

Common questions about bowel cancer screening

Bowel cancer

What is the bowel and how does it work?

What is bowel cancer?

How common is bowel cancer?

Who is at risk of bowel cancer?

What are the symptoms of bowel cancer?

How is bowel cancer diagnosed?

Where can people with a bowel cancer diagnosis get support?

Eligibility

Who needs to screen for bowel cancer?

Has the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program changed the eligible age for bowel screening to start at 45?

Can bowel cancer run in families?

What is a significant family history?

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