Bowel cancer screening after diagnosis

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Some people wonder whether they need to do this when it arrives, so I've copied my letter that's just come for interest.

Note it does say that they referred me for investigation/treatment, but they would still like me to do it. In my case this is probably the only way any recurrence would be picked up, having finished treatment and being signed off from collecterol after 3 years. No more planned scans or anything.

Just some info.

BlueBlue over 1 year ago

That's interesting, Gemmary.

I got my invitation earlier this year (NHS Scotland). It was just the standard letter and test kit, no mention of the fact that I'd been picked up by bowel screening 2 years earlier.

I phoned them up to ask for guidance (I have an ileostomy) and was told that it was up to me and I could take the test if I felt up to it - see how I feel on the day?? A bit of a strange non-committal answer, I thought.

Anyhow, I did the test and it came back clear. It's a great service and a lifesaver so I'd always encourage folks to participate. Here in Scotland we're eligible from age 50 which is even better.

CrumpetsOrToast over 1 year ago

Hi Gemmary.

Congratulations on being signed off and good luck on screening.

Just a heads up to those of us under the age of automatic screening threshold, my oncologist has flagged that once our treatment and initial surveillance period is over, the we will need to manually (every 2 years) trigger screening via our GPs.