Millions of people who have been given a life-saving bowel cancer home test are being urged to use and return it as part of an advertising campaign. It has been backed by the husband of Dame Deborah James, who died from the disease last year at the age of 40.
The NHS campaign launches on Monday across TV, radio, social media and video on demand. The kit can help spot the condition early and those who use it are nine times more likely to survive. New figures show a record 70% of people are willing to be screened for the disease - but 30% of those given a test kit are not returning it.
In August the NHS said campaigning by podcaster and columnist Dame Deborah has led record numbers of people to test themselves for the illness. Her husband Sebastien Bowen told The Sun: “The sooner you are diagnosed the more likely it is that treatment will be successful. So if you get sent a test, don’t put it off, it could be the difference between life and death."
