Closed petition Fund bowel cancer screening from the age of 40

Closed on 22 November 2023

The NHS is expanding its bowel cancer screening programme to people aged 50 and over. We want the Government to fund this to start at 40. Too many people under 50 are being given terminal cancer diagnoses. If screening was offered earlier more cases could be caught earlier, saving more people.

Too many clinicians don't test for cancer in people under the age of screening.

I personally have been ill for 4 years but was only diagnosed in December 2022, having previously been advised I was too young to have bowel cancer. If I had been tested earlier by diagnosis would likely have been far better, and the cost of my treatment lower.

Early screening should help identify cases earlier, and could save money overall.