Screening Services

Bowel Screening

Bowel cancer screening checks if you could have bowel cancer. It’s available to everyone aged 60 or over.

You use a home test kit to collect a small sample of poo and send it to a lab. This is checked for tiny amounts of blood.

Blood can be a sign of polyps or bowel cancer. Polyps are growths in the bowel. They are not cancer, but may turn into cancer over time.

If the test finds anything unusual, you might be asked to have further tests to confirm or rule out cancer.

Always see a GP if you have symptoms of bowel cancer at any age – do not wait to have a screening test.

Breast Screening

About 1 in 8 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. If it’s detected early, treatment is more successful and there’s a good chance of recovery.

Breast screening aims to find breast cancers early. It uses an X-ray test called a mammogram that can spot cancers when they’re too small to see or feel.

But there are some risks of breast cancer screening that you should be aware of.

As the likelihood of getting breast cancer increases with age, all women aged from 50 to their 71st birthday who are registered with a GP are automatically invited for breast cancer screening every 3 years.

Cervical Screening

• Cervical screening (a smear test) checks the health of your cervix. The cervix is the opening to your womb from your vagina.
• It’s not a test for cancer, it’s a test to help prevent cancer.
• All women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 should be invited by letter.
• During the screening appointment, a small sample of cells will be taken from your cervix.
• The sample is checked for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that can cause changes to the cells of your cervix. These are called “high risk” types of HPV.
• If these types of HPV are not found, you do not need any further tests.
• If these types of HPV are found, the sample is then checked for any changes in the cells of your cervix. These can then be treated before they get a chance to turn into cervical cancer.
• You’ll get your results by letter, usually in about 2 weeks. It will explain what happens next.

Aortic Aneurysm Screening (AAA)

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening is a way of checking if there’s a bulge or swelling in the aorta, the main blood vessel that runs from your heart down through your tummy.

This bulge or swelling is called an abdominal aortic aneurysm, or AAA.

It can be serious if it’s not spotted early on because it could get bigger and eventually burst (rupture).