Cancer screening is a test that looks for early signs of cancer in people without symptoms. It can help spot cancers at an early stage, when treatment is more likely to be successful. Cervical and bowel cancer screening can even prevent cancer from developing.
In the UK, there are three free NHS and PHA cancer screening programmes: cervical, bowel and breast. You will automatically be invited for screening, when eligible, if you are registered with a GP. The screening invitations you receive automatically depend on lots of factors, including your age, where you live, and how your gender/sex is recorded on the GP system.
Your screening invitation invites you to take part in cancer screening, and the information included will help you decide whether to take part.
If you take part in screening, you’ll get the results by post or through the NHS App.
Most people don’t need any further tests after their screening. But if you are asked to have more tests, it can be reassuring to know that most people who need extra tests aren’t found to have cancer.
Find out more about cancer screening from Cancer Research UK
Bowel cancer screening helps to find bowel cancer at an early stage, when treatment is more likely to be successful. It can also find changes in the bowel that could lead to cancer. Eligible people are sent a poo testing kit, which is done at home and returned safely in the post. This helps to spot tiny traces of blood in poo that aren’t visible and could be a sign of bowel cancer. In most cases, eligible people will receive their first kit between the ages of 50-54 (or from age 60 in Northern Ireland), and every two years after that until age 74.
In England people who are blind or partially sighted can use a FIT aid to help them complete the bowel cancer screening kit. This tool is an adaptation which makes the standard FIT test more accessible with a channel that enables the sample to be guided into the bottle, as well as a stand that holds FIT tube steady. It includes options for braille instructions, an audio CD or a link to audio and video instructions. Kits can be requested by phoning the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60.”
For more information, visit the Cancer Research UK bowel screening webpage
Cervical screening helps to prevent cervical cancer from developing in the first place. A nurse uses a small soft brush to take a sample of cells from the cervix. This test looks for HPV, the main cause of cervical cancer, and helps to pick up changes in the cervix that could develop into cervical cancer if left untreated. In most cases, eligible people are invited every three to five years (depending on where they live in the UK) between the ages of 25 and 64.
For more information, visit the Cancer Research UK cervical screening webpage
Breast screening helps to find breast cancer at an early stage, when treatment is more likely to be successful. An x-ray (mammogram) is taken of the breasts or chest and looks for breast cancer when it’s too small to see or feel. In most cases, eligible people are invited every three years between the ages of 50 and 70.
For more information, visit the Cancer Research UK breast screening webpage
Lung cancer screening helps to find lung cancer at an early stage, when treatment is more likely to be successful. The programme is new, so it will take some time before it’s available for everyone who is eligible. It is currently not available in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. When it’s up and running, anyone aged between 55 and 74 who smokes, or used to smoke, will be invited to take part. People are first invited to a risk assessment, based on this, some people will also be invited to have a CT scan of the lung.
For more information, visit the Cancer Research UK lung screening webpage
There isn't a national screening programme for all men for prostate cancer. The National Screening Committee has recently made a new recommendation to introduce a targeted screening programme, but this isn’t available yet. You might have also heard about the PSA test. You can read more in this article by Cancer Research UK. You can read more in this article by Cancer Research UK.
If you haven’t received a screening invite that you were expecting, there are a few things you can check. Firstly, make sure that you’re registered with a GP at your current address, so that you can receive your invites by post. If you don’t have a fixed address, the GP practice can register you using their own address and screening invitations will be delivered there.
Remember you can also look on the NHS website, or the Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland website, for more detail about a specific cancer screening programme in your country, including when to expect your invitations. If you still think there has been a mistake, contact your GP surgery.
If you have lost your screening invitation letter or missed a screening in the past, you can still take part in screening if you want to. Contact your GP surgery to let them know.
This checker is not for people that have symptoms. Cancer screening is for people with no symptoms. If you’ve noticed something that’s not normal for you, or you’re worried that you might have cancer, don’t wait for screening. Talk to your doctor as soon as possible, even if you’ve recently been screened. They’ll want to hear from you and you won’t be wasting their time. In most cases it won’t be cancer, but if it is, spotting it at an early stage can make a real difference.
Cancer screening saves thousands of lives each year, and some types of cancer screening can help prevent cancer from developing in the first place. But screening tests aren’t perfect and there are some risks to taking part:
Screening can miss cancers (a false negative). It can also give people abnormal results when they don’t have cancer (a false positive).
Screening can pick up harmless cancers that wouldn’t cause any problems, even if they were never found (overdiagnosis). This is different from a false-positive result. People with these harmless cancers may have treatment they don’t need, as their cancer would never have caused symptoms.
Some types of screening tests can have other risks or side effects, such as the risks from having x-rays of your breasts as part of breast screening. And although most people are not referred on for follow up tests, these tests also have pros and cons.
Your screening invitation will explain the pros and cons in more detail for the screening programme you are invited to. Take time to read your invite carefully to help you decide.
Visit Cancer Research UK’s webpage for more information on the benefits and harms of screening, as well as answers to some common questions.
Cancer screening invites are sent out automatically, based in part on how someone’s sex/gender is registered with their GP. If you are intersex, have a difference of sex development (DSD) or variation of sex characteristics (VSC), talk to your GP about the cancer screening programmes that are relevant for you. They can offer advice and information, taking your circumstances into account.
Remember that everyone who decides they’d like to take up their screening invite has a right to respect at in-person tests. And for breast and cervical screening in particular, it can be useful to talk to your GP or nurse ahead of time about adjustments, your gender identity, or anything else that could make it a more comfortable experience for you.
People of all genders have a right to respect and the same quality medical care when it comes to cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. But there are additional factors and barriers felt by transgender and non-binary groups when it comes to cancer screening.
Your sex assigned at birth, as well as any hormones or surgeries you may have had, factors in to whether you are eligible for some types of cancer screening.
It’s your choice whether or not to take up a screening invitation. If you are interested in participating in screening you can contact your GP, Gender Identity Clinic, local sexual health clinic or local breast screening service to ask for more information about a screening programme. It's important to understand the pros and cons of the screening test, so that you can make the decision that is right for you.
Click ‘Find out more’ for detailed information on cancer screening for trans and non-binary people from Cancer Research UK. You can also contact your GP, Gender Identity Clinic, local sexual health clinic or a local screening service directly to ask for more information about cancer screening.
For information only. Not medical advice. Contact your GP for concerns.
