Do the free bowel cancer screening test kit

Why do the bowel cancer screening test?

Bowel cancer is Australia’s second biggest cancer killer. It kills more people in NSW than prostate cancer, breast cancer or melanoma. Despite this, currently only around 40% of eligible people in NSW take part in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.

The Program is an Australian Government initiative that sends out free bowel cancer screening tests to eligible Australians aged 50-74 every two years. People aged 45–49 can request a test kit. Bowel cancer screening can detect cancers at an earlier stage when treatment can be more successful.

If detected early, bowel cancer can be successfully treated in more than 90% of cases.

If detected early, bowel cancer can be successfully treated in more than 90% of cases.

What is the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program?

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is an Australian government initiative that sends out free bowel cancer screening tests to all eligible Australians aged 50-74 every 2 years. People aged 45–49 can request a test kit. If you have any symptoms or concerns, see a doctor straight away.

Learn more about the Program.

When will I get my free bowel cancer screening test?

Have you done a test before?

For more information, contact the National Cancer Screening Register Contact Centre on 1800 627 701.

How to test for bowel cancer?

The bowel cancer screening test is easy-to-do and can be completed in the comfort of your own home.

  1. Collect two samples of your bowel motions (poo): The test comes with an instruction sheet that explains how to do this. Each of the two samples should be collected from different bowel motions (poos), as close together as possible, so either on the same day or within three days of taking the first sample.
  2. Send the samples for testing: Once you have collected each sample, put it in the privacy sleeve and keep it somewhere cool (the fridge is a great option). When you have both samples put them in the reply paid envelope provided together with your Participant Details Form, and send the envelope in the mail.
  3. Get the results: The samples are processed and the results are sent to you, and your nominated doctor or health service within two weeks.

See how to do the test.

See how to do the test video.

Test Kit Helpline 1800 930 998

How does the test work?

The bowel cancer screening test is a clean and simple test that you do at home, which looks for very small amounts of blood in the bowel motion (faeces or poo) that may be a sign of bowel cancer or other bowel problems. It is known as an immunochemical faecal occult blood test or iFOBT.

Bowel cancer can develop without any symptoms. The test can detect microscopic amounts of blood in the bowel motion, which can be a sign of bowel cancer. The test can’t show what is causing the blood to be there.

Blood in your bowel motion may be due to cancer or other conditions, such as polyps, haemorrhoids or inflammation of the bowel.

If your result is positive you will be asked to contact a doctor, who may recommend further tests to find out the cause of the bleeding.

How bowel cancer starts.

A diagram of the human bowel with the stomach, transverse colon, ascending colon, cecum, appendix, anus, rectum, small intestine and descending colon labelled.

The term "bowel cancer" refers to malignant growths which start in the colon or rectum. Bowel cancer is sometimes called colon cancer, rectal cancer or colorectal cancer.

Bowel cancer occurs when cells in the bowel lining become abnormal. These cells divide and grow. They usually form a polyp first, which may become a cancer over time. Not all polyps turn into cancer.

How bowel cancer develops.

What age does bowel cancer screening start?

Anyone can get bowel cancer, but the biggest risk factor is increasing age. In NSW, more than 90% of bowel cancers are found in people aged 50 years and over. This is why people aged 45-74 should get checked for bowel cancer every two years.

The risk of bowel cancer is higher if you:

  • are aged 50 years and over
  • have an inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis
  • have previously had special types of polyps, called adenomas, in the bowel
  • have a strong family history of bowel cancer or polyps.

Bowel cancer personal stories.

John's story about why he does the bowel cancer screening test.

John's story about why he does the bowel cancer screening test.

Rosie's experience of doing the bowel cancer test.

Rosie's experience of doing the bowel cancer test.

Melahat's message about doing the bowel cancer test .

Melahat's message about doing the bowel cancer test.

Louise's story of finding bowel cancer early.

Louise's story of finding bowel cancer early.

Campaigns

“There’s A Lot We Can Do”
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2021 TV advertisement video.

FAQs /
Frequently
Answered
Questions.

How can I order a replacement bowel cancer screening test kit?

If you have lost your test kit or would like a new test sent to you, you can order one online or call the National Cancer Screening Register: 1800 627 701.

Yes, bowel cancer screening test kits have an expiration date. This is marked clearly in red on the back of the test kit. It is important to complete the test before the kit's expiration. If your kit has expired, you can request a replacement from the National Cancer Screening Register by calling 1800 930 988 or ordering online.

To be eligible for a free test you must:

  • be in the age range (45–74 years)
  • have a Medicare Entitlement type of either:
    • Australian citizen
    • Permanent resident
  • have a current Medicare card or be registered as a Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) customer
  • have a mailing address in Australia
  • be in the right age group (enter your date of birth in the tool above to find out when you are due to receive your test).

If you meet these criteria you are automatically registered for the Program. Screening tests are sent to your address as recorded by Medicare or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs so it’s important to keep this information up-to-date.

How to update my address.

To receive a free bowel cancer screening test you must meet the eligibility criteria mentioned above. If you believe you should have received a test but haven’t, please contact the National Cancer Screening Register Contact Centre via the Online Contact Form or by calling 1800 930 988 to find out what the issue is.

The upper age limit of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is based on the anticipated benefit of screening for bowel cancer in someone without symptoms weighed against of complications due to further tests (such as colonoscopy).

Serious complications from colonoscopy are uncommon. However, perforation of the bowel is a possible complication, and the risk of this is higher in older people. The risks of screening for people aged 75 to 85 years who have been screened seem to be higher than the benefits.

Screening may still be appropriate. If you’re aged 75 years or older, and are concerned about bowel cancer, you should talk to your doctor about the need for future screening.

There are a number of ways to reduce your risk of developing bowel cancer, including:

  • do the test every two years between the ages of 45-74 when it arrives in the post
  • quit smoking
  • reduce alcohol consumption
  • maintain a healthy body weight
  • be active and sit less
  • eat a healthy diet.

Anyone with concerns about their risk of developing bowel cancer should talk to their doctor.

Yes, bowel cancer is also referred to as colon cancer, rectal cancer, or colorectal cancer. These types of cancer occur in the colon or rectum.

Bowel cancer is the second most common cancer in men and women in NSW. In NSW, one in 16 people will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime. It is most common in people aged 50 years and over.

Bowel cancer often develops without any early warning signs or symptoms. Tiny traces of blood leak can from growths inside the bowel wall and pass into the bowel motion before any symptoms are noticed. The screening test is used to detect the tiny traces of blood that are invisible to the naked eye – early detection can lead to better outcomes if you do have bowel cancer.

If you notice any symptoms, it does not necessarily mean that you have bowel cancer, but it is very important that you discuss them with a doctor without delay.

You should talk to your doctor about whether to complete the screening test if you:

  • have had a bowel condition in the last 12 months which is currently under treatment
  • have recently had a colonoscopy
  • are scheduled for a colonoscopy in the next few weeks.

If you have a functioning bowel (that is, you have not had your bowel removed) you should continue with bowel screening. People with no functioning colon do not need to be screened. If you’re uncertain, speak to your doctor.

The bowel screening test, called an immunochemical faecal occult blood test (iFOBT) is effective in detecting the early warning signs of bowel cancer. The negative predictive value of the test is 99.9%, which means that less than 0.1% (less than 1 in 1000) of those people who get negative result will develop bowel cancer within the next two years.

The biggest risk factor for developing bowel cancer is being over the age of 50. One of the best things you can do to protect yourself from bowel cancer is to do the bowel cancer screening test every 2 years, from age 50–74. You can now start doing the test even earlier. If you're aged 45–49, you can request a test kit.

Aside from age, some other factors that increase your risk of bowel cancer include:

  • a diet low in fibre
  • high red meat consumption, especially processed meats
  • being overweight or obese
  • alcohol consumption
  • smoking tobacco
  • inherited genetic risk (such as Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) or Lynch Syndrome) or a family history of bowel cancer
  • inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s disease.

Anyone with concerns about their risk of developing bowel cancer should talk to their doctor.

Bowel cancer is Australia’s second biggest cancer killer. In 2022 around 102 Australians died of bowel cancer every week. Bowel cancer survival rates depend on how far the cancer has spread when it is detected, this is called the ‘stage at diagnosis’. Each stage refers to the size, location and amount of spread of the cancer, with Stage 1 being the smallest and with the least amount of invasion into other tissues, and Stage 4 being having the greatest amount of growth and spread in the body.

The table below shows the approximate bowel cancer survival rate (or, likelihood of successful treatment) based on the stage at which a person is diagnosed. If detected at the earliest stage, bowel cancer can be successfully treated in approximately 99% of cases. At such an early stage, bowel cancer is unlikely to have any symptoms and can only be detected via regular screening. This is why it is so important to do the bowel cancer screening test every two years from age 45-74.

Bowel Cancer Stage At Diagnosis5-year Survival Rate
Stage 199%
Stage 289%
Stage 371%
Stage 413%

Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2019a) Cancer in Australia 2019, AIHW, Australian Government

How bowel cancer develops.

Stage 1 – tumour is found only in the inner layers of the bowel wall
Stage 2 – tumour has spread deeper into the layers of the bowel wall
Stage 3 – tumour is in any layer of the bowel wall and has spread into nearby lymph nodes
Stage 4 – tumour has spread beyond the bowel to other parts of the body, such as the liver or lungs, or to distant lymph nodes.

Resources.

Bowel cancer resources.

Learn how-to do the test

Watch a video from the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program

Learn more about the test experience

Hear people’s experiences of taking part in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program

Screening resources.

Discover more about the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program

Read about how the Program works

Resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Discover how bowel cancer can affect you and your community

Resources for Aboriginal health workers

Find more information and resources on cancer screening and prevention for mob

Resources for health professionals

Learn about the benefits of screening, the current participation rate in NSW and best practice tips

Contact details.

National Cancer Screening Register

Contact Centre

1800 627 701
8am - 6pm Monday to Friday (except public holidays)

Online Contact Form

Mailing address

National Cancer Screening Register
Reply Paid 90965
Sunshine VIC 3020

Test Kit Helpline

1800 930 998
8:30am - 5pm Monday to Friday (except public holidays)

The Test Kit.

  1. Instructions
  2. 2 x toilet liners
  3. 2 x collection tubes
  4. 1 x ziplock bag
  5. 1 x Reply Paid envelope

To see how to do the test watch the video.