This Bowel Cancer Awareness month, Cambridge Clinical Laboratories is announcing that it is opening up the availability of the FIT test (Faecal Immunochemical Test) to all. The FIT test is currently used by the NHS in over 50’s to screen for bowel cancer. However more than 2,600 people under 50 are diagnosed each year in the UK.* These individuals will be missed by the screening programme and therefore diagnosis won’t come until they develop symptoms and go through the NHS pathway for diagnosis. 

Bowel cancer is treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early. Nearly everyone survives bowel cancer if diagnosed at the earliest stage. However, this drops significantly as the disease develops. Early diagnosis saves lives.*

The impact of Covid-19 isn’t isolated to just those getting the virus. The NHS is struggling, with waiting times for cancer referral and treatment at record high. With nearly 43,000* people diagnosed with bowel cancer every year this new availability of the FIT test could make a huge difference helping to improve screening and speed up diagnosis.  

CCL, based in Milton Cambridge, is a leading lab with an objective to bring new technologies for diagnostics to the UK.

CCL CEO Dr Anthony Cooke says: “2020 threw a huge curveball for the world in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic, as a result Cancer healthcare has been hugely impacted. The new tests we are launching will help to ease the pressure of the NHS and support patients to take more of a lead with their healthcare. CCL wants to help; we know our tests will improve the lives of many.”

Bowel Cancer in the UK

(Source - *Bowel Cancer UK)

ž- Most people with bowel cancer are diagnosed when they are over the age of 50. But more than 2,600 people under 50 are diagnosed each year in the UK

ž- Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and the second biggest cancer killer

ž- Nearly 43,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK

ž- Around 268,000 people living in the UK today have been diagnosed with bowel cancer

ž- More than nine out of ten new cases (94%) are diagnosed in people over the age of 50, and nearly six out of ten cases (59%) are diagnosed in people aged 70 or over. But bowel cancer can affect anyone of any age. More than 2,600 new cases are diagnosed each year in people under the age of 50

ž - 1 in 15 men and 1 in 18 women will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime

ž- Bowel cancer is treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early. Nearly everyone survives bowel cancer if diagnosed at the earliest stage. However, this drops significantly as the disease develops. Early diagnosis really does save lives 

ž- More than 16,500 people die from bowel cancer in the UK every year. It is the second biggest cancer killer in the UK.