BowelScreen is for everyone aged 58 to 70. It’s for people who have no symptoms of bowel cancer.
Bowel screening can save lives
- It can prevent bowel cancer from developing by finding and removing polyps (small abnormal tissue growths that can turn into cancer if not removed).
- It can help to find bowel cancer at an early stage, before there are any symptoms.
- When bowel cancer is found at an early stage, it can be easier to treat, and it can be cured.
How to take part
You need to be on our BowelScreen register to get an invite.
We’ll invite you to do the test every two years if you’re in the eligible age range. You’ll get your first invite between the ages of 58 and 60.
When you get your invitation letter and you decide to take part, you can request your home-test kit:
- online at hse.ie/bowelscreen
- by freephone 1800 45 45 55
- by email info@bowelscreen.ie
We need to have your up-to-date address so that you can get your invite letter and your results. You can use our online register to:
- check if you’re already on the register
- check your contact details and update them if you’ve moved address
- request your free home-test kit when you’re invited
- find out when your next screening is due.
How it works
Bowel screening is a free, simple, test that you do at home at a time that suits you. It’s called a FIT kit (faecal immunochemical test). Most people find the test kit easy to use.
We post the FIT kit to you when you decide to take part. It comes in a small envelope that fits in most letter boxes. It will include information about how to do the test.
You put a sample of your poo on a small stick and place it into a tube. You post the sample back for free. This goes to the laboratory we use for testing.
This short video about BowelScreen explains how to use the home-test kit.
Testing your sample
In the laboratory, a machine looks for tiny traces of blood (often invisible to the eye) in your poo. This could be a sign of a cancer that has yet to show any symptoms.
Your test results
Most people get a normal result. We’ll send your results to you by post within four weeks of getting the sample.
- If your test result is normal, we’ll invite you to do the test again in two years.
- If your test shows a certain amount of blood in your poo, you will get a ‘not normal’ result and we’ll invite you for a test called a colonoscopy.
Why a colonoscopy is worth it
A colonoscopy helps to find polyps. Most bowel cancers develop from polyps. Most polyps are removed during a colonoscopy. This is how we can prevent bowel cancer developing and reduce the chance that you will get bowel cancer in the future.
A colonoscopy can also help to find a cancer. Bowel cancer can be treated and cured if it’s found at an early stage, before there are any symptoms.
Helping you to make an informed decision
Our BowelScreen website has lots of information to help you understand more about bowel screening.
We also have information in accessible formats:
- easy-read
- plain English
- a photo story about doing the BowelScreen test
- videos in 25 languages
- an Irish Sign Language video
- screening information in Ukrainian and Russian
Support to access screening
We have an access officer who can help you if you need support before, during and after your screening. You can email access@bowelscreen.ie or freephone 1800 45 45 55.
Know your body and your bowel habits
Bowel screening is for people who have no symptoms of bowel cancer. Whether you decide to take part in bowel screening or not, it’s important to know your own body and what is normal for you and your bowel habits. Screening will not pick up every sign that could develop into cancer and cancer can develop between screening tests.
Get to know the symptoms of bowel cancer and if you notice any unusual changes or have any concerns, talk to your GP. Don’t wait for screening.
One test can help
Doing the home-test takes just 5 minutes. It can prevent bowel cancer developing and could save your life. Choose screening. Just one test can help reduce the risk of developing bowel cancer over your lifetime.