Introduction
Introduction
Cancer screening programmes play a vital part in increasing early diagnosis of cancer, which can save lives.
Screening looks for early signs of cancer in people with no symptoms, and some types even aim to prevent cancer from developing in the first place.1
If someone has symptoms, they shouldn’t wait for a screening invitation. Likewise, if they have recently had a negative screening result but develop symptoms afterwards, they will still need referral for further investigation.
National programmes
The NHS Breast Screening Programme invites all women aged 50-70 for screening every three years, which involves taking an x-ray of each breast, known as a mammogram. People older than 70 can still have screenings every three years, but they won’t automatically be invited and will need to contact their GP or local breast-screening unit to make an appointment.
In England, people aged 60-74 are sent a bowel cancer screening kit (FIT test) through the post. People aged over 74 can request a screening kit every two years by contacting the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme on: 0800 707 6060. The FIT test detects and can quantify the amount of human blood in a single stool sample.
It uses antibodies that specifically recognise human immunoglobulin, so the result is not influenced by the presence of other blood in the stools, such as from diet. A positive FIT result suggests there may be bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract that requires further investigation. Those with a positive result are then invited for further testing, normally colonoscopy.2 People eligible to take part will receive a kit every two years, but they need to be registered with a GP to receive them automatically.
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme invites women aged 25-64 for cervical screening. The test aims to pick up changes in cervical cells early, as these cells could develop into cervical cancer if left untreated. In England, eligible people get an invite every three years if aged 25-49. After that, they get an invite every five years until the age of 64.
The human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine programme has dramatically reduced cervical cancer rates by almost 90 per cent in women in their 20s, who had the vaccine at age 12-13. Although the vaccine protects against the two types of HPV that cause most cases of cervical cancer, it does not protect against other types of HPV that are linked with cervical cancer. This means that girls who have had the HPV vaccine still need to go for cervical screening from age 25.
You can find information and advice for trans and non-binary people on all the national screening programmes on the Cancer Research UK website and from NHS England.