Bowel cancer is highly treatable if diagnosed early, however the number of people availing of a simple home screening test remains very low in Ireland, the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) has said.

According to the ICS, only 44% of eligible women and 36% of eligible men are currently taking part in BowelScreen, the national bowel screening programme.

Bowel cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in this country, with almost 2,500 people diagnosed every year, and 1,000 dying from it annually.

Almost 50% of all bowel cancer patients are diagnosed at a late stage, when treatment options are more limited and survival rates are significantly lower. Patients who are diagnosed with stage one bowel cancer have a five-year survival rate of 95%. Among those diagnosed at stage four, this figures falls to just 10%.

Bowel screening aims to detect bowel cancer at an early stage in people who have no symptoms. Adults aged between 60 and 69 can currently take part in BowelScreen every two years if results are normal.

Over 90% of test results are normal, but around five in every 100 people will receive an abnormal result and will need additional testing. They will be referred to hospital for a screening colonoscopy to assess whether there is any abnormality in the bowel.

According to the ICS's cancer support manager, Joan Kelly, you can take part in BowelScreen in the comfort of your own home and the test only takes a few minutes.

"Bowel cancer is very treatable once it is diagnosed early. We are encouraging men and women who are eligible for screening to take part," she commented.

People aged between 60 and 69 are invited to participate in BowelScreen by letter. Once someone receives the letter, they should call BowelScreen to confirm their participation. A test kit will then be sent by post to the person's home with simple instructions on how to do the test. Once the test is complete, the person sends it back to BowelScreen in the Freepost envelope provided.

Meanwhile, the ICS is also appealing to people to get familiar with the symptoms of bowel cancer and attend their doctors if such symptoms last more than three weeks. These include:
-Bleeding from the back passage or blood in your bowel motion
-A lasting change in your bowel movements, such as diarrhoea or constipation
-Pain/discomfort in your abdomen or back passage
-Feeling you have not emptied your bowel fully after going to the toilet
-A feeling of trapped wind or fullness in your stomach
-Unexplained weight loss
-Ongoing fatigue or weakness.

The ICS is raising this issue as part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in April. If you are concerned about any aspect of cancer, you can call the ICS Nurseline on 1800 200 700.

If you would like to contact BowelScreen, call 1800 45 45 55 or click here