In this section
Bowel screening is offered to people aged 54 to 74 years-old across South and Central Manchester, Tameside, Stockport and Trafford to help find bowel cancer early, when it can often be cured.
The Bowel Cancer Screening Programme provides Bowel Cancer Screening Services for around 1.3 million people in South Greater Manchester (Manchester, Trafford, Stockport, Tameside & Glossop).
The Screening Programme offers screening every two years to all men and women aged 54 to 74. People over 74 can request a screening kit by calling the free phone helpline 0800 707 6060.
Bowel cancer screening aims to detect bowel cancer at an early stage, in people with no symptoms, when treatment is more likely to be effective.
The symptoms of bowel cancer can include:
- Bleeding from your bottom and/or blood in your poo
- A persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason
- A pain or lump in your tummy
Most people with these symptoms don’t have bowel cancer. Other health problems can cause similar symptoms. But if you have one or more of these, or if things just don’t feel right, go to see your GP.
Sometimes, a tumour can block the bowel, causing sudden strong pains in the stomach area, bloating and feeling or being sick. This is called a bowel obstruction. You may also be unable to empty your bowels or pass wind. If you think you have a blocked bowel, see your GP straight away or go to a hospital accident and emergency department.
Information about the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme
Video information about the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme
Video information about the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme
Additional language formats
Urdu – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msFADikfvtI&t=61s
Arabic – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss-e0a-4hrs&t=11s
Farsi – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dEWKL2bl7U
Punjabi – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5xsYS8u5j4
Cantonese – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCGStYVgQ4E&t=1s
Polish – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTcK8S1i2Vg&t=2s
Bengali – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyfveprBbC8&t=44s
Hindi – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1JPqhq5hdc&t=18s
Gujarati – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwbA0ZAYx8g
Mandarin – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er6-Xfu3uXg&t=32s
How common is bowel cancer?
- About 1 in 20 people in the UK will develop bowel cancer during their lifetime.
- Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in the UK claiming more than 16,000 lives a year, that’s over 44 people every day.
- Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, after breast, prostate and lung cancers.
- Every 15 minutes in the UK someone is diagnosed with bowel cancer. That’s over 42,000 people every year. Every 30 minutes someone dies from the disease in the UK.
- Bowel cancer is more common in the over 50s but it can affect people of all ages. More than 2,500 people under 50 are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK every year.
- 1 in 15 men and 1 in 18 women will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime.
- Bowel cancer is treatable and curable, especially if diagnosed early. Nearly everyone diagnosed at the earliest stage will survive bowel cancer. However this drops significantly as the disease develops. Early diagnosis really does save lives.
- People with a family history of bowel cancer have an increased risk of developing the disease. People who take little exercise, people who are overweight and people who have a diet high in red meat and low in vegetables, fruits and fibre are all thought to have an increased risk of developing bowel cancer.
Who is the service for?
Patients in this age group will automatically be sent an invitation letter from the Midland and North West Programme Hub (based in Rugby) to take part in the screening programme.
Patients will then receive their Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) kit through the post for them to complete in the privacy of their own home.
Once the FIT kit has been completed, people are asked to send the kit back to the Midland and North West Programme Hub where the screening kits are tested to detect tiny amounts of blood, which you cannot normally see in your bowel motions.
If a patient has had an unclear or abnormal result they will be invited to retest. Once a retest has been completed and an abnormal result has been identified then the patient will receive an invitation letter for a clinic appointment with our Specialist Screening Practitioner to discuss having a colonoscopy.
The FIT test does not diagnose bowel cancer, but the results will tell you whether you need an examination of your bowel, a colonoscopy. For more information about colonoscopy, please click here.
For more information on how to use the FIT kit, please see the following links:
When is the service available?
What happens at an SSP clinic appointment?
The consultation appointment will take place over the telephone and will take around 45 minutes.
Important Information:
- Ensure you have a list of any medication that you are currently taking as the SSP will need this information
- If English is not your first language, you can request an interpreter by calling 0800 707 6060 or 0161 701 8542
- If you require a face to face consultation appointment with our SSP, please call 0800 707 6060 or 0161 701 8542
What will happen at your SSP consultation appointment?
The SSP will discuss the following with you during your appointment:
- Talk to you about your screening results
- Describe what happens during a colonoscopy procedure
- Explain the possible risks and benefits
- Ask some questions about your health
- Answer any questions you may have
The SSP will assess if you are fit enough for a colonoscopy. If you are, it is your choice whether you want to go ahead with the colonoscopy procedure investigation.
The SSP will also be able to answer any questions or concerns that you may have, in order to relieve any stress, anxiety or concerns with the screening programme.
What happens at a colonoscopy appointment?
Watch this short video to learn what happens during your colonoscopy appointment.
Click here to see our patient information leaflet.
All colonoscopy appointments are undertaken by our Accredited Screening Consultants. This is a Gold Standard service in which Consultants have to go through a strict training programme and examination in order to be accepted onto the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.
NHS Information:
Colonoscopy appointments are often undertaken in the Endoscopy Unit and ward staff will provide every support for patient during their time spent in the department to ensure they are comfortably looked after.
All colonoscopy appointments take place at the following locations:
The Withington (Manchester) Bowel Cancer Screening Programme provide the following services:
- Consultation telephone appointment with a Specialist Screening Practitioner/Nurse, colonoscopy procedure and follow-up appointments (if needed)
- Provides alternative investigations where colonoscopy is not appropriate
- Provides pathology services
- Refer those requiring treatment for cancer to their local colorectal multi-disciplinary team.
Requesting another bowel screening kit
- By phone – 0800 707 6060
- By email – bowelscreening@nhs.net
When asking for a replacement FIT kit, please give your:
- Name
- Date of Birth
- Home Address
- Contact Details
Information about the team & contact information
Key Staff/Consultants
Clinical Director – Dr Robert Willert
Unit Manager/Lead Specialist Screening Practitioner – Joanne Parker
Cancer Screening Improvement Lead – Johnson Liu
Deputy Programme Manager – Charlotte Reed
Consultants:
Dr Hui Lee
Dr Richard Jones
Dr Asimina Gaglia
Dr Imran Patanwala
Dr Abubaker Ahmed
Dr Syed Shah
Dr Javaid Iqbal
Specialist Screening Practitioners:
Teresa Brown
Natalie Hodson
Emily Harrison
Ananta Das
Gisha Nair
Shauna Cameron
Rita Okeh
Nicole Walsh
Kirstie Wolfenden
Administration Team:
Miriam Chin
Ami Fowles
Sheneeza Ramdyal
Muminur Rahman
Saraa Akhtar-Siddique
Contact Details
Telephone: 0800 707 60 60
Email: bowelscreening@nhs.net
For enquiries with regard your clinic appointment with Specialist Screening Practitioner and your colonoscopy appointment, please call the Manchester Screening Centre on:
Clinical Enquiries: 0161 276 4560 (Mon to Fri)
Appointments: 0161 701 8542 (Mon to Fri)
Email: mft.bcspmft@nhs.net
Supporting information
News and Blogs
Info about community engagement and development projects
- Awareness and promotional campaigns
- Healthy eating and lifestyle impact
- Fund raising for Bowel Cancer
- Bowel cancer search projects
Forum discussions – general discussions, FIT home testing kit, BOSS, other talk, staff feedback (Members only – need signing up with contact details)
Awareness and promotional campaigns
- Bowel cancer screening patient, David Calvert has written a blog about his experience here
- Cancer Screening Improvement Lead – Johnson Liu talks about the bowel cancer screening programme on Manchester’s Radio Sheung Lok with Cantonese translation. (starts 14min)
- Bowel cancer screening patient – Roger discusses the bowel cancer screening programme with Suzi Hoffman on Manchester’s ALL FM. (starts 20mins 30sec)
- Manchester’s Sonder Radio create radio advert for Greater Manchester’s Bowel Cancer Screening Programme with patient interview
Translated letters and text message templates
- Text message to non-responders Urdu
- Non-responder letter Romanian
- Non-responde text template Romanian
- GP engagement letter non-responders Urdu
- Non-responder text template Polish
- Non-responder letter Kurdish-Sorani
- Non-responder letter Polish
- Non-responder text Kurdish-Sorani
- Letter from GP to non-responders French
- Text message for GP to send to non-responders French
- Letter from GP to non-responders Farsi
- Text message for GP to non-responders Farsi
- Letter from GP to non-responders English
- Non-responder letter Czech
- Non-responder text template Czech
- Text message for GP to send to non-responders Bengali
- GP engagement letter non-responders Arabic
- Text message to non-responders Arabic
- Text message for GP to send to non-responders Somali