What consideration has the Cabinet Secretary given to permitting people aged over 74 to request a bowel cancer test kit from Bowel Screening Wales every two years, as is the case for people in England?
The Welsh Government follows the advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) which recommends that screening for bowel cancer should be offered every two years to men and women between the ages of 50 and 74 in the UK using the faecal-immunochemical test (FIT). The UK NSC has not recommended bowel screening outside of this age range.
There are risks associated with screening as well as benefits and as such there needs to be a balance between the benefits and potential harms of the screening test being offered. Anyone who has participated in the screening programme regularly up to the age of 74 is at much less risk of developing bowel cancer in the following years. People aged 75 years or older who are concerned about bowel cancer or are experiencing possible symptoms of bowel cancer can seek advice from their GP about the need for further investigation.