Over a third of people eligible for bowel cancer screening in Wales don’t complete their test, despite progress in early diagnosis, data revealed by the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity Bowel Cancer UK has shown.

The charity looked at the latest screening data across NHS boards, which oversee local health services in Wales, from 2024 and found that Powys Teaching Health Board (HB) and Hywel Dda HB have the joint highest uptake for screening while Swansea Bay and Cwm Taf Morgannwg HBs have the least number of people taking part in screening .

Wales has the lowest average of people taking part in screening compared to other UK nations, behind England, Scotland , and Northern Ireland .However, a recent Audit Wales report highlighted that a significant milestone had been reached through the expansion of screening to thousands more people across Wales.

Bowel Cancer UK is sharing the data during April’s Bowel Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), which aims to raise awareness of bowel cancer and bowel cancer screening.

The NHS has made great strides in improving bowel cancer screening uptake in recent years, especially since the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) was introduced as the primary screening tool in Wales in 2019.

Genevieve Edwards, Chief Executive of Bowel Cancer UK, said: “While there’s been great work to date when it comes to people taking part in bowel cancer screening. these figures show that there’s still room to improve screening uptake even further.“

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in Wales, but screening is one of the best ways to spot the disease early or remove polyps that might develop into cancer. The earlier bowel cancer is found, the more treatable it’s likely to be, with more than 9 in 10 people surviving the disease when diagnosed at the earliest stage.

“This Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, we want everyone who receives their free bowel cancer screening test to complete and return it as soon as possible."John Woodland from Caerphilly was diagnosed with stage 2 bowel cancer in November 2023. He didn’t have any symptoms of the disease but completed the NHS screening test when he received it.

“Please never think that you’re exempt from cancer and make sure you do any screening tests on offer,” John says.

“I had no symptoms, yet I was thankfully only stage 2 when I was diagnosed. Receiving the screening test through the post potentially saved my life.”

Steve Court, Head of Programme for Bowel Screening Wales, said: “Research clearly shows that regularly taking part in bowel cancer screening offers the best chance of detecting cancer at an early, treatable, stage. In Wales, more people than ever are using the home test kit, with two out of every three kits returned and over 320,000 people screened each year.“However, there are still many who do not take up this free and simple test. I strongly urge everyone who is eligible to complete their kit when it arrives in the post. It is quick, easy, and it could save your life.”