Wrexham MS welcomes lowering of bowel cancer screening age to 55

Local Member of the Senedd, Lesley Griffiths, has welcomed the Welsh Government’s announcement that bowel cancer screening will be made available to more people in Wrexham as home testing is expanded to include 55-57 year olds.

The Wales-wide expansion will mean that 172,000 more people across the country will start to receive easy to use kits that test for the early stages of bowel cancer. The move is part of a phased approach to lowering the screening age to 50 by October 2024.

From early October, people aged 55, 56 and 57 have started being invited for screening and will receive their home testing kits in the post.  The programme will be rolled out to the newly eligible age group gradually over the next 12 months.

Welcoming the announcement, Lesley Griffiths MS said: “I’m pleased that the next phase of the Welsh Government’s plan to widen access to bowel cancer screening has come into effect.

“Treatment is more likely to be effective if cancer is detected at an early stage and offering the home test to more people will help identify more cases and help improve survival rates.

“I also welcome the news that the Welsh Labour Government plans to continue to expand the programme by lowering the age range to 50 over the next few years.

“Eligible individuals are being invited for screening and will receive their home testing kits in the post over the next 12 months.  The test kit is easy to complete and I urge everyone in Wrexham who receives the invitation to take up the offer as it could save your life.

The funding is part of a £16 million investment package by the Welsh Government that has supported the introduction of new, easier to use, FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) at home testing kits.  The new home testing kits have helped improve screening uptake to 65% and have improved sensitivity to better detect those at risk of bowel cancer.

More than 2,500 people were diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2019.  Screening plays an important role in detecting cancer earlier and helps to improve cancer outcomes in Wales.

The lowering of the screening age is based on the recommendation by the UK National Screening Committee.