People with signs of bowel cancer should be offered a £5 “poo test” before invasive bowel investigations, health leaders have said. The main signs of bowel cancer include changes in bowel habits, blood in poo, stomach pain, bloating, weight loss and fatigue.
If a GP suspects bowel cancer after a patient reports these symptoms then they might refer them for more tests at hospital, in particular a colonoscopy – an invasive test to check the inside of a person’s bowels. But GPs are now being advised to give patients a test that they conduct themselves at home in new draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).
The faecal immunochemical tests (FIT) involves a patient taking a small poo sample, which is then sent to a laboratory in the post. The sample is checked for any trace amounts of poo in the blood and the results are usually available within a week.
