Bowel Screening

Overview

In this section you can find out about what it's like to take part in bowel screening (Faecal Occult Blood test) by seeing and hearing people share their personal stories on film. Researchers travelled all around the UK to talk to 44 people in their own homes. Find out what people said about issues such as deciding to take part, the Faecal Occult Blood test, colonoscopy and getting results. We hope you find the information helpful and reassuring. The site does not cover Flexible Sigmoidoscopy (flexi-sig) screening as this was introduced after the interviews were collected.

You might also be interested in our section on Bowel cancer.

Clive Anderson Introduces the Bowel Screening website

Bowel Screening Preview introduced by Muir Gray

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Muir Gray: Screening is a process by which we firstly identify the people in the population who are at highest risk. Secondly, we offer them a screening test.

Interview 02: I just thought that it was a good thing to do. Not only that, from talking from friends of mine that have actually done it and been picked up through it.

Interview 27: When the letter came back to say I think it was all right, I felt relieved and I thought, well, all that fuss was for nothing.

Andrea Giles, Specialist Screening Practitioner: An abnormal result may mean that we found some hidden blood in your bowel motion, an unclear or abnormal result doesn't mean a diagnosis of bowel cancer.

Interview 18: I went in to see the doctor again in a private room, and he went through everything again. What he was going to do and went all through the procedure.

Interview 37: It's necessary. We've been going to have the breasts looked at to check for breast cancer, you know. If you've got a problem with your waterworks and you've got to have your willy looked at and if they have problems the other side, you've got to have that looked at. So go for it. Live longer.

This section is from research by The University of Oxford.

Supported by:
The UK National Screening Committee
GUT: The Digestive Tract Cancer Support Group for Coventry and Warwickshire

Publication date: May 2007
Last updated: May 2016