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How the Screening Test Works

How does the screening test work?

The screening test detects tiny amounts of blood, which you cannot normally see, in your bowel motions. It is called the Faecal Occult Blood (FOB) test (‘occult blood’ means hidden blood).

Polyps and bowel cancers sometimes bleed, which is why we screen for blood in your bowel motions.

The FOB test does not diagnose bowel cancer, but the results will tell you whether you need an examination of your bowel (a colonoscopy).

Where is the test carried out?

You carry out the FOB test in the privacy of your own home. The screening kit provides a simple way for you to collect small samples of your bowel motions. You wipe the samples on a special card, which you then send in a hygienically sealed prepaid envelope to a laboratory for testing. There are detailed instructions with each kit. You may think that doing the test sounds a bit embarrassing or unpleasant, but it will only take a few minutes and it is an effective way to detect bowel cancer early.

What does the test involve?

Bowel Cancer Screening kit

Small samples from three separate bowel motions are collected and, using the cardboard sticks provided in the kit, spread onto sections of a special card.

The test kit needs to be returned to the laboratory for analysis within two weeks (14 days) of the first sample being taken. A specially designed prepaid envelope, which meets postal regulations, will be provided in which to return the test kit.

Anyone who does not wish to participate in the programme can decline the offer of screening by contacting the programme hub following receipt of their invitation. If a person who has not declined screening does not return their test kit, a reminder will be sent to them around four weeks from when their kit was despatched.

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