Victory for The Sun and campaigners as Government lowers bowel cancer screening age from 60 to 50
EVERYONE in England and Wales will be offered bowel cancer screening tests at 50 years old, marking a victory for The Sun and campaigners.
The No Time 2 Lose campaign called for the Government to lower the screening age from 60 to 50 – bringing it in line with Scotland.
Bowel cancer is the 2nd deadliest form of cancer, claiming 16,000 lives a year, but it CAN be cured if it’s caught early enough.
Fewer than one in ten people survive bowel cancer if it’s picked up at stage 4, but detected quickly, more than nine in ten patients will live five years or longer.
That’s why The Sun launched the No Time 2 Lose campaign in April with Bowel Cancer UK, calling on the Government to offer a simple poo test to everyone, every two years, from their 50th birthday.
Today, following a review of the evidence by the UK’s National Screening Committee, health secretary Matthew Hancock has agreed to lower the screening age in England.
And Vaughan Gething, cabinet secretary for health and social services in Wales, said the screening age will also be lowered to 50 in Wales, “as soon as possible”.
The committee recommends screening using the new faecal immunochemical home test kit (FIT), should be offered to everyone aged 50 to 74. Until now the test had only been offered to people on their 60th birthday.
Campaigner Lauren Backler started a petition urging the Government to lower the screening age to 50 after losing her mum at 55.
Fiona Backler died just three months after she was diagnosed with the disease.
Channelling her anger at losing her mum, Lauren, 27, gathered more than 479,000 signatures delivering the petition to the Department of Health in April.
After touching down in Helsinki en route home from Thailand to hear the good news, Lauren told The Sun: “I can’t stop crying, what fantastic news.
“I really can’t believe it, I’m overwhelmed. I was so determined, but there’s always a part of you that doesn’t dare believe it will happen.
“It means so much to me, and will stop thousands of other families from facing what we had to.
“This is for every person dealt the blow of bowel cancer in their 50s, and in memory of every person that has died after being diagnosed in their 50s, particularly my beautiful and amazing mum, Fiona.
“She is missed more than words could express and our grief is unbearable even three years on. But this is now her legacy.
“Never again will someone in their 50s be denied screening in this country, and I can’t explain how much that means to me.
“Without The Sun’s campaign this wouldn’t have happened.
“That and the hundreds of thousands of people who signed the petition, and Bowel Cancer UK’s support.
“Now, I want to know when the Government will implement this? There’s No Time 2 Lose.
“This is for you, darling mum.”
The Sun’s Deborah James, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer at 35, welcomed the news and praised Lauren’s relentless campaigning.
“This is brilliant, it’s a vital step to saving more lives,” she said.
“It will ensure we can catch more cases in the earliest stages, when a person’s chance of surviving is greatest.
“Lauren has proved she’s a force to be reckoned with.”
TV star Matthew Wright, who backed The Sun’s campaign, welcomed the news after his dad and granddad both lost their lives to bowel cancer.
“It’s fantastic news that health ministers have listened to doctors and the public,” he told The Sun.
“Lauren has worked tirelessly to make a difference to other families, she’s an inspiration and her mum would be so proud of her.
“Bowel cancer screening at 50 will save thousands of lives across the UK and will put to an end the inequality of the current situation.
“Well done to Lauren and The Sun for standing up and shouting about this, it really will save lives.”
'LIVES WILL BE SAVED'
LIVES will be saved by the decision to lower the bowel cancer screening age from 60 to 50, campaigners said today.
Baroness Floella Benjamin, who lost her mum to the disease, raised the issue in the House of Lords backing The Sun’s No Time 2 Lose campaign.
Welcoming the victory, she said: “I truly believe many lives will be saved now the Government has finally listened to campaigners and lowered the screening age for bowel cancer to 50.
“It’s a move which will hopefully stop preventable suffering to patients and loss for families like mine.”
Meanwhile, Lauren Backler’s local MP in Eastbourne, Stephen Lloyd praised his constituent.
“This is fantastic news and a testament to the amazing campaign led by Lauren, whose petition reached more than 470,000. An astonishing success,” he said.
“I’d also like to pay thanks to The Sun’s No Time 2 Lose campaign. Having a major newspaper like The Sun behind us gave Lauren, and the campaign, a major lift.
“Not only was I moved by the passion and committment Lauren showed in her determination to get the Department of Health to reduce the age of bowel cancer screening from 60 to 50, which could have saved her mother’s life, but also her focus on ensuring the campaign had broad support across the country.
“This is good news that very soon lives will be saved.
“They’ve made a committment to start the implementation and now I will keep the pressure on up in Parliament until we get a fixed start date.”
Deborah Alsina, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, said the charity is “delighted” after campaigning for so long on the issue.
“We want to see every eligible person in the UK have access to the most effective screening methods,” she told The Sun.
“Today’s recommendation to offer FIT from the age of 50 every two years is a significant step towards achieving this.
“Screening is the best way to diagnose bowel cancer early, when it is treatable and curable and the implementation of FIT will provide us with further opportunity to transform survival rates for bowel cancer.”
Screening from 50 allows potential bowel tumours to be detected in the earliest possible stages – a move that could save more than 4,500 lives every year.
Professor Anne Mackie, director of screening at Public Health England, said: “The risk of bowel cancer rises steeply from around age 50 to 74 and rates are significantly higher among males than females.
“Starting screening ten years earlier at 50 will help spot more abnormalities at an early stage that could develop into bowel cancer if not detected.
“The committee recognises that this change will take time but wants the FIT test to be offered to all aged 60 and over as soon as possible, and options considered for a roll out plan where screening can be offered at 55 and eventually to all aged 50 – ensuring we have the best bowel screening programme possible.”
WHAT IS THE FIT TEST?
THERE are currently two different types of screening tests used in the UK, the faecal occult blood test (FOBT) and the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) – both test for blood in your poo, a red flag sign of bowel cancer.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland offer the FOBT test while Scotland introduced the FIT test in November 2017.
The FIT test is set to be rolled out in England this autumn and in Wales in 2019.
It’s used to detect traces of blood in a single stool sample and can be done from the comfort of your own home.
An abnormal result suggests there is bleeding in your intestinal area and requires further investigation by a doctor.
It’s more effective than the current FOBT test, and requires just one poo sample – rather than three.
Pilot studies in Scotland suggest this increases the uptake rate by 10 per cent.
Public Health Minister, Steve Brine added: “We are determined to make our cancer survival rates the best in the world.
“With the roll out of FIT as a new bowel screening test from the autumn – a much more convenient and reliable test – we have a real opportunity to reshape our bowel screening programme and potentially detect the stages of bowel cancer much earlier.
“We are now considering opportunities and taking expert advice on how a sustainable, optimal bowel cancer screening programme starting at age 50 can work in the future.”
Screening from 50 rather than 60 won’t just save thousands of lives every year, but the NHS serious cash, ex-health secretary Andrew Lansley said, backing The Sun’s campaign.
At the age of 61 he was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer after his wife nagged him to go to their GP – he had none of the classic symptoms.
'MUM DESERVED A FIGHTING CHANCE...THERE'S NO TIME 2 LOSE'
LAUREN Backler lost her mum to bowel cancer in her 50s.
Fiona Backler died at 55 – three months after doctors discovered she was battling the disease.
In the wake of losing her mum, Lauren started a petition to get the screening age lowered from 60 to 50.
She believes that had her mum lived across the border in Scotland she could still be alive today.
Joining forces with The Sun for the No Time 2 Lose campaign, Lauren said it’s time to end the postcode lottery.
“It’s not right that where you live can mean the difference between life and death,” Lauren told The Sun. “But it did for my mum.
“Screening would’ve given her a fighting chance. But as it was, she had no chance.”
Lauren handed her petition in to the Department of Health with a staggering 446,921 signatures back in April.
In a matter of days, after launching the No Time 2 Lose campaign, the 27-year-old’s petition received a 20,ooo boost.
After her petition was handed in, health minister MP Steve Brine hinted experts would look at whether the screening age should be lowered to 50.
Speaking following a debate on the issue in Parliament, Mr Brine insisted that tackling bowel cancer is a “huge priority” but admitted the NHS has to do much better to reduce premature deaths.
Praising The Sun’s campaign, Mr Lansley said: “It’s great news, something we have been calling for.
“It’s something that’s already available in Scotland and it’s important we bring England in line.
“The simple point is that prevention is better than a cure.”
Welcoming the news, Ms Alsina, from Bowel Cancer UK urged NHS England to come up with a clear plan to implement the lower screening age.
She added: “This must address how services will cope with introducing FIT when we already know that the biggest constraints to implementing an optimal bowel cancer screening programme are a lack of endoscopy and pathology capacity.
“That’s why it will be vital to ensure that the NHS has enough staff and resource to deal with the increase in demand this will have on bowel cancer diagnostic services as a core part of the ten year funding agreement.
“This will of course save the NHS money over the longer term as an optimal bowel cancer screening programme can both prevent bowel cancer from developing or detect it early, when it is cheaper and easier to treat.
“We must get the delivery of these recommendations right.”
Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said: “These important recommendations will be carefully considered in the NHS Long Term Plan, which will set out ambitious improvements in cancer prevention and care for the decade ahead.”
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