A Free Test You Do at Home

Bowel cancer is one of the more common cancers in Australia, and one of the more survivable when it is found early. The difficulty is that early bowel cancer often produces no symptoms worth noticing. By the time it does, it has usually had time to progress.

That is what the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program exists to get around.

Who it covers

The program is available free to people aged 45 to 74. How you receive the kit depends on your age. If you are aged 50 to 74, a kit is mailed to you automatically every two years. If you are aged 45 to 49, you can request your first kit, after which you join the regular mailing cycle. This age group has been included in the program since 1 July 2024.

Requesting a kit is done through the National Cancer Screening Register, either online or by calling 1800 627 701. It does not need a referral.

What it actually involves

The test is a faecal immunochemical test. It looks for tiny amounts of blood in a bowel motion, small enough that you would not see them yourself. You take two small samples at home, in private, and post them in the reply-paid envelope provided. There is no preparation, no diet change, and no visit required to do it.

Results go to you and, if you have nominated one, to your doctor.

If a result comes back positive

A positive result does not mean you have cancer. It means blood was detected, and there are several possible reasons for that. What it does mean is that it needs following up properly, usually with a colonoscopy, to find out which reason applies. That follow-up is the part that makes screening worth doing.

The kits that never come back

The most common problem with the program is not the test. It is that a large share of kits arrive in the post and are never returned, put in a drawer, shifted to the pile of things to deal with later, and eventually forgotten.

A kit sitting in a drawer provides exactly the same protection as no kit at all. If you have one, it is worth doing this week rather than at some point.

If you are in the eligible age range and cannot remember whether yours has arrived, or you have moved and think it may have gone to an old address, ask us and we can point you in the right direction.

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Source: Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, About the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.