People aged 50 and 52 are now eligible to receive a free home-testing kit for bowel cancer every two years by post, a final victory for the NHS by now offering everyone 50-74 the screening test. This means that 850,000 additional people in England each year will be eligible for the screening test, with over four million more people invited since the roll out began in 2021.

The kit, a faecal immunochemical test (FIT), checks for blood in a stool sample, which can be a symptom of bowel cancer.

NHS England is encouraging more people to take up this lifesaving offer, as data highlights than the uptake is lower in those aged 54-59. Currently, less than 60 per cent of 54-57 year olds have accepted the offer to screen themselves, as opposed to over 70 per cent of 60-74 year olds returning their FIT kits.

Those eligible for the free screening service will receive an invitation letter and will be sent their test with full instructions and prepaid return packaging, which will happen automatically for those in this age bracket. Results are then sent back to participants, along with any information about further tests, should it be needed. Only two in 100 tests will require further screenings or tests.

This is part of an initiative to diagnose bowel cancer at an earlier stage by using regular screening, which vastly increases the chances of successful treatment and survival.

Steve Russell, national director for vaccinations and screening at NHS England, said: “Lives are saved when cancers are caught early and the expansion of the NHS bowel cancer screening programme to those aged 50 will help to spot signs of bowel cancer sooner, and potentially save thousands of lives.

“We are seeing positive uptake of the home testing FIT kits, with over two thirds of those eligible returning their tests, but this drops off in the lower age groups and we want to see even more people taking up the offer.

“While taking a test for bowel cancer may be the last thing you’re thinking about as you enter the new year, it could save your life, so if you’ve got a FIT kit hiding in a rawer at home, I would encourage you to return it as quickly as you can — most people won’t have signs of cancer, but if the test does detect anything, we can ensure they are sent on for further tests as treatment.”