FAQs

The bowel is part of the digestive system, which is also called the gastrointestinal (GI) or digestive tract. The digestive system starts at the mouth and ends at the anus. It helps the body break down food and turn it into energy. It also gets rid of the parts of food the body does not use. This solid waste matter is called faeces (also known as stools, or poo). The bowel is made up of the small bowel and the large bowel.

More information about bowel cancer.

Bowel cancer is cancer in any part of the large bowel (colon or rectum). It is sometimes known as colorectal cancer and might also be called colon cancer or rectal cancer, depending on where it starts. Cancer of the small bowel is very rare and is usually called ‘small bowel cancer' or ‘small intestine cancer'.

Bowel cancer grows from the inner lining of the bowel (mucosa). It usually develops from small growths on the bowel wall called polyps. Most polyps are harmless (benign), but some become cancerous (malignant) over time.

If untreated, bowel cancer can grow into the deeper layers of the bowel wall. It can spread from there to the lymph nodes. These small, bean-shaped masses are part of the body's lymphatic system. If the cancer advances further, it can spread (metastasise) to other organs, such as the liver or lungs.

In most cases, the cancer is confined to the bowel for months or years before spreading.

More information about bowel cancer.

100 Australians die from bowel cancer every week. Bowel cancer is Victoria's third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second most common when it comes to cancer deaths.

In 2019, 3,816 Victorians were diagnosed with bowel cancer, 55% of whom were men. Bowel cancer accounted for 21.3% of all cancers diagnosed and 22.4% of cancer deaths in Victoria.

Bowel cancer can occur at any age, but the risk is greater for men and women over the age of 50. Other factors that can also increase your risk include:

• have had an inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis
• have previously had special types of polyps, called adenomas, in the bowel, or
• have a significant family history of bowel cancer or polyps.

Bowel cancer often develops without symptoms, but it is important to see your doctor if you notice any of the following:

• blood in your poo or in the toilet bowl
• a recent and persistent change in your toilet habit, such as looser poos, severe constipation and/or if you need to poo more often than usual
• unexplained tiredness or weight loss
• stomach pain.

The home screening test is not suitable for people with these symptoms. If you notice any symptoms it's important that you speak to your doctor.

If you receive a positive result from a home screening test you will be referred to your GP for further tests.

A positive result means that traces of blood were found in the samples you sent to the pathology lab. Blood may be due to other conditions, and it doesn't mean you necessarily have cancer, but it does need to be investigated.

Find out more about how bowel cancer is diagnosed.

If your test result is positive, you will receive a letter asking you to speak to your doctor about follow-up tests, usually a colonoscopy, to determine the cause.

If your test is negative you will be invited to re-screen in two years.

Cancer Council Victoria provides a range of free information and support services to help manage the impact of cancer.

You can speak with an experienced and understanding Cancer Council nurse for a confidential conversation about anything cancer related.

This may include to:

• get access to information
• connect with support services for financial, legal, workplace, transport, accommodation and respite needs
• find out about one-on-one or group support from others who've been through similar experiences (over the phone, online or in person).

You can access these services whether you have cancer, have had it in the past, or are concerned about your cancer risk. Family, friends and colleagues are welcome to call for information and support.

Call 13 11 20 or email a cancer nurse to find out more

The risk of bowel cancer increases after the age of 50.

Cancer Council recommends that people aged between 50 and 74 who do not have symptoms or a strong family history of bowel cancer, do a simple at home test every two years.

Regular screening is important because bowel cancer can develop without noticeable symptoms. However, if detected early, 90 per cent of bowel cancers can be cured.

The home screening test is not suitable for people with symptoms or a strong family history of bowel cancer. If you think you have a strong family history, or if you have symptoms, speak to your doctor.

Sometimes bowel cancer runs in families. If one or more of your close family members (such as a parent or sibling) have had bowel cancer, it may increase your risk. This is especially the case if they were diagnosed before the age of 55, or if there are two close relatives on the same side of your family with bowel cancer.

If you are concerned about your family risk factors, talk to your doctor or call Cancer Council 13 11 20.

You are considered to have a significant family history of bowel cancer if:

• A close relative (parent, brother, sister or child) developed bowel cancer at a young age (under 55 years); or
• More than one close relative in your family has had bowel cancer at any age.

More than 80 per cent of people who develop bowel cancer do not have a family history of bowel cancer.

If you think you have a family history of bowel cancer, you should talk to your doctor about your risk of getting the disease.

See your doctor. The home screening test is not suitable for people with symptoms or a strong family history of bowel cancer.

If you are aged between 50 and 74 years, you will receive a free home test in the mail from the Australian Government as part of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. This test will be sent to your address on your Medicare card. If you don't receive a kit, call the National Cancer Screening Register on 1800 627 701 to see when you will receive a free at home test.

From 2020, all eligible Australians aged 50 to 74 will be invited to screen every two years.

For more FAQs about the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program visit their website.

You will receive your free bowel screening kit in the mail within the first six months of your birthday. If you have not received your kit, call the National Cancer Screening Register on 1800 627 701.

If you are not currently eligible for the program, you can still be tested.

Your GP can request a home screening test. The pathology may be subsidised by Medicare. Tests can also be obtained over the counter from some pharmacies, while some pathology services and health organisations provide online options for purchasing a kit.

You should discuss your particular situation and the use of home screening tests with a GP before purchasing one.

Costs vary, but generally you can pick up a home screening test for around $30 (plus pathology costs). We recommend that you speak to your doctor before ordering a kit. To find out when you will receive a free kit as part of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program call the National Cancer Screening Register on 1800 627 701 or visit their website.

Screening people aged 50 to 74 provides the greatest health benefit on a whole-of-population basis.

Bowel cancer is comparatively rarer in younger age groups. A program that screened large populations of younger people would result in an inappropriately and unsustainably high number of people presenting for clinical investigation, yet with a very low likelihood of having cancer.

If anyone under the age of 50 is concerned about their risk of bowel cancer, if they have symptoms, or a strong family history, they should speak to their doctor.

The benefits gained from screening in persons aged 75 to 85 who have been previously screened appear to be small compared to the risks associated with screening – particularly from follow-up diagnostic procedures (colonoscopy).

It is recognised that people's medical and health circumstances vary. People aged 75 years or older should talk to their GP about their need for future screening.

Screening for bowel cancer involves a simple, at-home test called a faecal occult blood test (FOBT). This test looks for traces of blood in the poo which are invisible and could be a sign of bowel cancer. To complete the test, you need to get a tiny sample from two separate poos, put the completed test in the envelope provided and mail it to the pathology lab for analysis.

If you test positive, you will be referred for a colonoscopy for further investigation. Read more about FOBTs.

A positive result means that traces of blood were found in the samples you sent to the pathology lab. A positive result does not mean that you necessarily have cancer.

Blood may be due to conditions other than cancer, such as polyps or haemorrhoids, but it needs to be investigated.

If your test result is positive, you will receive a letter asking you to speak to your doctor about follow-up tests, usually a colonoscopy, to determine the cause.

If your test is negative you will be invited to re-screen in two years.

You should complete the test as soon as possible.

Upon receipt, the FOBT should be completed as soon as possible. Each FOBT has an expiry date. This can be located on the back of the envelope.

Once both samples have been collected, it should be posted as soon as possible (within 24 hours if you can), using the reply paid envelope, containing the collection tubes and the completed and signed Participant Details Form.

Yes. Do not collect samples if:

• Piles (haemorrhoids) which are bleeding. If this happens, see your doctor.
• Blood in your urine, poo or in the toilet bowl. If this happens, see your doctor.
• Your menstrual period. Wait for at least three days after your period before doing the test.
• Had a recent colonoscopy.

But it is not necessary to change your diet or avoid taking medications before the sample collection.

Keep it in a cool dry place, preferably 2–10 degrees, or in the fridge away from food, until the second sample is taken and until you can post the envelope.

Avoid posting the envelope if it's a very hot day, or post it in an indoor mail box, or post it just prior to collection times.

In 2018–2019, 43.8% of eligible Australians participated in the program.

Breakdown by states:

• NT: 30.8%
• NSW: 40.8%
• VIC: 46.3%
• WA: 46.1%
• ACT: 46.1%
• TAS: 49.2%
• SA: 49.1%

If we raise participation from 4 in 10 to 6 in 10, we could save 84,000 Australian lives across the next 20 years.

The national program uses immunochemical tests.

There are two main kinds of FOBTs – guaiac tests and immunochemical tests. Guaiac tests ask people to change their diets and stop taking some kinds of medication before the test. With immunochemical tests, there's no need to change diets or medication.

Although no screening test is 100% accurate, the FOBT is currently the most widely available and well trialled screening test for bowel cancer.

A 2014 study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that the immunochemical FOBT used in the program has a high degree of accuracy (estimated 83% sensitivity and 93% specificity).

Read more about the National Program evidence base.

You can find out when a patient is eligible to receive a kit using the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program age eligibility matrix by Year of Birth.

From 2020, all eligible Australians aged 50-74 will be invited to screen every two years.

Eligible people receive a pre-invitation letter near their birthday, followed by an invitation pack.

The kit includes an immunochemical faecal occult blood test (FOBT) kit, instructions and a patient details and consent form, which asks them to nominate their GP for management of their results.

View Department of Health's Participant screening pathway to find out when eligible people will receive contact from the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.

Patients who receive a positive FOBT result will be referred to their GP for further investigation.

As a GP, your role includes:

• encouraging the eligible patients to complete the home screening test when they receive it in the mail
• assessing those with a positive result and refer them for further examination as clinically indicated, for example a colonoscopy
• indicating whether a patient referred for colonoscopy is a program participant to assist with reporting to the Program Register. Program stickers are available by calling the Information Line on 1800 118 868
• notifying the Program Register of referral/non-referral for colonoscopy or other bowel examination for participants with a positive result. This can be done by returning the program's GP Assessment Form by fax, post or electronically. Provision of information will attract a payment
• managing individuals identified as being at increased risk of bowel cancer in accordance with the ‘Clinical practice guidelines for the prevention, early detection and management of colorectal cancer’
• informing individuals at average risk, or slightly above, that the NHMRC Guidelines recommend screening at least once every two years from the age of 50.

The patient will provide the GP name, medical practice name and address. The provider number is optional.

A GP will only be notified if they are nominated by the patient. If they do not nominate a GP, only the participant will receive a letter notifying them of the result.

• National Bowel Cancer Screening Program video for more information about referral to colonoscopy.
• Victorian colonoscopy referral information through the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.
• Pre-populated NBCSP GP Assessment Report templates: Medical Director template; Best Practice template; Instructions on importing the pre-populated template into your software.

For more information on the Victorian National Bowel Cancer Screening Pathway, contact the Quality and Liaison team on 03 8417 6825 or visit the Department's bowel screening webpage.

Some patients who are not eligible for the national program may be suitable for, or wish to participate in, self-funded faecal occult blood testing.

If your patient is aged between 50 and 74, contact the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program on 1800 118 868.

There are also a number of companies who offer self-funded screening in Australia. An iFOBT kit can be purchased from some pharmacies or from other third party providers such as pathology providers.

In most cases, a person who has an existing bowel condition should still participate in the program. However, if a person has received an invitation to participate in the program but:

• has had a bowel condition in the last 12 months which is currently under treatment; or
• has had a colonoscopy within the last year; or
• is scheduled for a colonoscopy in the next few weeks;
  they should not participate in the program at this stage.

The at home test is designed to be completed in the privacy of your own home. As samples are needed from two separate poos, it is easier to do this at home.

Currently only 43 per cent of Victorians participate in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, and research consistently demonstrates that a recommendation from a primary care provider to screen for bowel cancer is an important motivator for participation.

We also know that people who have completed the home test once are likely to re-screen. Nearly three-quarters (73.5%) of people who completed the kit for the first time reported doing the kit a second time. On the flip side, people who had not completed the kit the first time were very unlikely (17.7%) to participate the second time.

Cancer Council Victoria recognises the key role that GPs and other health professionals play in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.

Currently only 43% of eligible Victorians complete the home screening (FOBT) test as part of the national program.

You can promote participation through:

• Endorsing the program in your practice;
• Displaying brochures, flyers and posters in your practice;
• Encouraging patients aged 50-74 to do the test;
• Demonstrating how to use the kit with eligible patients;
• Encouraging 49-year-old patients to complete the test when they turn 50.

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program have provided these recommendations to promote the program and increase screening rates.