People across Falkirk district and in Scotland generally answered Detect Cancer Early’s call to join the ‘bowel movement’ with new statistics highlighting that an additional 3,000 bowel screening tests were returned during September and October, compared to the same period the previous year.
Over 100,000 tests in total were returned during the two month period that coincided with the launch of the Scottish Government’s new Detect Cancer Early campaign to boost participation in the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme. The figures were announced at Britain Against Cancer Conference in London.
The ‘bowel movement’ campaign, which targeted those who put off taking the test, highlighted the growing number of people in Scotland who are routinely taking part, in a bid to motivate others to do the same.
With statistics showing that the likelihood of surviving bowel cancer is 14 times higher if detected at an early stage compared to a late stage 2, the bowel screening test remains the most effective way of finding the disease early.
Everyone aged between 50 and 74 in the Falkirk area is sent a bowel screening test every two years. More people than ever before are doing their test, in the privacy of their own home – around half a million every year – but Detect Cancer Early aims to further drive uptake in a bid to help save more lives.
The Detect Cancer Early programme, launched in February 2012, aims to increase the proportion of people in Scotland who are diagnosed in the early stages of breast, bowel and lung cancer by 25 per cent by the end of 2015.
In welcoming this news Falkirk West MSP Michael Matheson MSP said:
“More people than ever in Falkirk district and Scotland are completing their bowel screening tests, and these latest figures show that things are continuing to move in the right direction.
“We know that many people are put off by the test, or simply don’t get around to completing it, so it’s encouraging to see that our awareness campaigns are spurring people into action.
“Bowel cancer can often be cured, if it’s caught early but it’s important people play their part by returning their kits when they arrive in the post, and with this we can help bring cancer down to size in Scotland.”
