Closed petition Lower the age for bowel screening in England to 55.

Closed on 16 November 2018

Last year, I lost my role model, my best friend, and my dad. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer with secondary mets to his liver and lymph nodes. He was just 58 years old, had just become a grandad for the first time and had the rest of his life to live.

Currently, the NHS provides bowel screening every 2 years from the age of 60, although evidence from Cancer Research UK shows that between 2012-2014 age-specific incidence rates of bowel cancer rise steeply from around age 50-54. The diagnosis rates are also much higher for men. The current survival rate for stage 4 bowel cancer in men is just 5% compared to stage 3 which is 65%. I truly believe that if the screening age was lowered to 55, that there would be a better chance of survival.