Bowel screening in the uk

[rainbow]

Hi, I have been reading a lot about the bowel screening in the uk and tbh I find it quite worrying to read that the fobt can have a lot of false negatives, so how accurate is this test?

So many people could have a negative test but still have cancer. I know that in the US people have colonoscopies from the age of 50. Wouldn't it be more sensible to do that here aswell? Also they don't start the screening until age 60 in England, that's ten years later than Scotland.

So for me even if I get a negative on a fobt I would still be extremely worried about having cancer.

[swajj]

Yes so have a more definitive test. I had a colonoscopy 2 years ago after the specialist said the same thing as you just did about the bowel screening test. He discovered one polyp. It was benign but I'm sure the bowel screening test wouldn't have picked it up. Anyway he recommended another one in 5 years. He said it would have been 10 if he hadn't found the polyp.

[rainbow]

Unfortunately we can't demand testing here without good reason and there is no way I could fund it myself. Do you mind me asking how old you are?

[MyNameIsTerry]

BUPA says this:

If bowel cancer is found early, treatment is more likely to be effective. Screening is offered to everybody between 60 and 69 in England and this age range is currently being extended to 74. The age range differs slightly in other parts of the UK.

If you’re eligible for screening, you will be offered a test every two years.

Everyone is offered a test called faecal occult blood (FOB) testing. This checks for blood in your faeces (one of the possible signs of bowel cancer). You’ll be sent a testing kit and instructions on how to take a sample of faeces. You send this to a laboratory and should usually get the results back within two weeks.

Out of every 100 people who do the test, about 98 have a normal result. If you have an unclear or abnormal result, blood may have been found in your faeces. You’ll be offered more tests to find out what is causing this and one of these is a colonoscopy. Remember you may have blood in your faeces because of conditions other than cancer.

In addition to standard screening, people in some parts of the country are now being offered bowel scope screening. You have this, only once, at the age of 55. This test, called a flexible sigmoidoscopy, is quicker than a colonoscopy. It only examines the last part of your large bowel rather than all of it.

So, 2% are not clear but that just signals the need for a further test of some kind to find out why. They won't take a chance not investigating further.

[rainbow]

BUPA says this:

If bowel cancer is found early, treatment is more likely to be effective. Screening is offered to everybody between 60 and 69 in England and this age range is currently being extended to 74. The age range differs slightly in other parts of the UK.

If you’re eligible for screening, you will be offered a test every two years.

Everyone is offered a test called faecal occult blood (FOB) testing. This checks for blood in your faeces (one of the possible signs of bowel cancer). You’ll be sent a testing kit and instructions on how to take a sample of faeces. You send this to a laboratory and should usually get the results back within two weeks.

Out of every 100 people who do the test, about 98 have a normal result. If you have an unclear or abnormal result, blood may have been found in your faeces. You’ll be offered more tests to find out what is causing this and one of these is a colonoscopy. Remember you may have blood in your faeces because of conditions other than cancer.

In addition to standard screening, people in some parts of the country are now being offered bowel scope screening. You have this, only once, at the age of 55. This test, called a flexible sigmoidoscopy, is quicker than a colonoscopy. It only examines the last part of your large bowel rather than all of it.

So, 2% are not clear but that just signals the need for a further test of some kind to find out why. They won't take a chance not investigating further.

Thanks for that. The thing is that there are false negatives which means that there are people who could have cancer that will go untreated until they have symptoms. Tumours don't always bleed so can go undetected for some time, and what about polyps? How many people have polyps that won't be removed. Surely the most sensible thing to do would be to start routine colonoscopies at 50 year old like they do in so many other countries.

---------- Post added at 12:57 ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 ----------

Also the ten year age difference between Scotland and England is confusing.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think they are working towards offering a similar age check to the US but it's probably the money. NHS Scotland is more efficient, although woeful for mental health in many ways, so it may be that?

If you get a false negative in a test for blood in your stool because you have seen a GP because of symptoms, I would expect they continue to investigate the original symptoms. They should surely be working on the assumption that not everyone will have blood in their stool?

[rainbow]

I totally agree about the poor mental health services in Scotland, at least where my son is concerned.

My main issue with the screening is that people with no symptoms can be missed with only the fobt test. At least with colonoscopy it's much more accurate. So you think maybe we will get routine scopes here eventually?

[Fishmanpa]

It makes sense that this would be concerning to you based on your fear du jour. There's nothing stopping you from getting a colonoscopy at 50 other than possibly the $$$.

The key is learning to accept that there are risks we cannot anticipate or test for or predict. I never would have thought I would be stricken with such a rare case with my cancer (SCC Head and Neck, unknown primary *1-2% of ALL H&N cancers) nor my wife being stricken with NMDA Receptor Autoimmune Encephalitis which has only been officially identified since 2007!

That being said, I don't live my life in fear of things I can't control. Rather than be concerned with testing methods, wouldn't it be more productive to work on accepting what we cannot control and making the best of the blessings we do have?

Positive thoughts

[rainbow]

It makes sense that this would be concerning to you based on your fear du jour. There's nothing stopping you from getting a colonoscopy at 50 other than possibly the $$$.

The key is learning to accept that there are risks we cannot anticipate or test for or predict. I never would have thought I would be stricken with such a rare case with my cancer (SCC Head and Neck, unknown primary *1-2% of ALL H&N cancers) nor my wife being stricken with NMDA Receptor Autoimmune Encephalitis which has only been officially identified since 2007!

That being said, I don't live my life in fear of things I can't control. Rather than be concerned with testing methods, wouldn't it be more productive to work on accepting what we cannot control and making the best of the blessings we do have?

Positive thoughts

Tbh, I'm not sure of the cost of a private colonoscopy here but I really doubt that I could afford it.

It's so unfair that you and your wife have gone through such hard times but your positivity is inspiring! I have spoken to a number of friends about the fobt screening and was surprised at how many haven't gone ahead with it.

I have been trying so hard to deal with my anxiety but at times it overwhelms me and drags me down again and so the cycle starts all over again.