Only one-third of men take bowel cancer test

Just more than a third of men contacted by the national programme to screen for bowel cancers took up the invitation, new figures show.

The uptake rate for the BowelScreen programme, which started for 60-to 69-year-olds in November 2012, is 44 per cent for women and just 36 per cent for men.

This compares very unfavourably with the uptake rates for other national cancer screening programmes. Both BreastCheck and CervicalCheck have participation rates of more than 70 per cent. So far, approaching the end of the first full round of screening for this age group, the BowelScreen programme has found 317 cancers, a detection rate of 0.2 per cent.

Some 422,000 invitations have been issued since 2012, Minister for Health Leo Varadkar told Fianna Fáil health spokesman Billy Kelleher in a Dáil reply.

This resulted in 158,000 people going for screening, 74,000 men and 84,000 women.

Screening

The much-delayed programme is being introduced nationally on a phased basis, starting with 60- to 69-year-olds. From next year, screening will move from every three years to every two years, in line with best practice internationally.

Mr Varadkar said it was envisaged that the programme would be expanded over time, “in line with available resources,” until the full 55-74 age group was covered.