How the screening test works

The screening test detects tiny amounts of blood, which you cannot normally see, in your bowel motions. It is called the Faecal Occult Blood (FOB) test (‘occult blood’ means hidden blood).

 

Polyps and bowel cancers sometimes bleed, which is why we screen for blood in your bowel motions.

 

The FOB test does not diagnose bowel cancer, but the results will tell you whether you need an examination of your bowel (a colonoscopy).

 

Bowel cancer screening can also detect polyps. These are not cancers, but may develop into cancers over time. They can easily be removed, reducing the risk of bowel cancer developing.

 

What does the test involve?

 

Small samples from three separate bowel motions are collected using the cardboard sticks provided. They are then smeared onto three separate windows of a special card, sealed and then dated.

 

The test kit needs to be returned to the laboratory for analysis within two weeks (14 days) of the first sample being taken. A specially designed prepaid envelope, which meets postal regulations, will be provided in which to return the test kit.

 

Anyone who does not wish to participate in the programme can decline the offer of screening by contacting the programme hub following receipt of their invitation. If a person who has not declined screening does not return their test kit, a reminder will be sent to them around four weeks from when their kit was dispatched.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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