Over-50s urged to take part in cancer screening

Shariqua Ahmed
BBC News, Peterborough
NWAFT Five members of hospital staff wearing green campaign T-shirts and holding information leaflets.NWAFT
A bowel cancer screening programme is being run in Peterborough and Huntingdon

A hospital trust in Cambridgeshire is urging people over the age of 50 to take advantage of a bowel cancer screening programme.

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, and North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (NWAFT) is promoting the importance of bowel health to visitors and patients at its hospitals in Peterborough and Huntingdon.

Cancer Research UK says bowel cancer is the fourth most common type, but Bowel Cancer UK says more than nine people in 10 can survive it when it is diagnosed early.

The teams at Peterborough City Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital are advising visitors about the screening process, explaining the symptoms of bowel cancer and offering information on screening kits.

In addition, the trust is supporting a nationwide initiative which has seen the screening age for bowel cancer lowered to 50 in England.

It means everyone aged between 50 and 74 is eligible to receive an at-home easy to use testing kit as part of NHS England's screening programme.

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