Don’t miss life-saving opportunities for cancer screening

Tens of thousands of people across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw have missed potentially life-saving opportunities to be screened for breast, bowel and cervical cancers over the past couple of years.

Almost 350,000 appointments and invitations for screening have not been taken up according to records held by the SYB Cancer Alliance.

Figures over the past 30 months up to March 2024 show around 112,000 women have missed appointments and invitations for cervical screening; 68,000 people haven’t taken up invitations for bowel cancer screening; and around 67,000 have failed to attended appointments or respond to invites for routine breast examinations.

Dr Steph Edgar, GP and Deputy Clinical Lead for the SYB Cancer Alliance, said: “There are many reasons why people don’t attend appointments or fail to respond to invites for screening. We want to help overcome whatever those fears are and encourage people to come forward when they’re invited. Our message remains the same, that screening and early detection really can save lives.”

One of people’s main fears is the possible discomfort or embarrassment of undergoing screening procedures.

As January is cervical screening awareness month, it is the ideal time to point people in the direction of information that can help to allay those fears.

Dr Edgar added: We understand people’s fears and so there is a wealth of useful and reassuring information available about what to expect during the process and how to prepare for it. Early screening for cervical cancer saves around 5,000 lives a year, so it’s important.”

For more information, visit https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-awareness/cervical-cancer-awareness

Another area of concern is screening for bowel cancer. Since the introduction of an at-home testing kit for people aged over 50, the number of people responding in our region has increased but there is still room for improvement and better awareness of the benefits.

Doncaster GP and Chief Medical Officer for NHS South Yorkshire Dr David Crichton recently received and used his kit and urges people getting theirs to do the same.

He said: “Bowel cancer screening uses a test called a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) to look for blood in a sample of your poo which could be a sign of bowel cancer. You collect the sample at home and send it by post to be tested.

“It’s quick and easy to use in the privacy of your own home and can help find cancer early, and before you have any symptoms, which may mean it’s easier to treat.”

If you’re aged 50 to 74 and registered with a GP, you’ll automatically get a FIT kit through the post every two years.

If you’re aged 75 or over, you can ask for a home test kit every two years by calling the bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 6060.

You can find out more about bowel cancer screening here:  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bowel-cancer-screening/

Meanwhile, the NHS hopes to revolutionise access to breast cancer screening with its new ‘ping and book’ service launched at the end of 2024.

In 2023 alone, NHS breast screening services detected cancers in 18,942 women across England, which otherwise may not have been diagnosed and treated until a later stage.

However, despite a rising uptake, the latest annual data for England (2022/23) showed more than a third of women did not take up the offer of breast screening following an invitation, with 2.18 million eligible women not having had a mammogram in the previous three years.

The ‘ping and book’ service alerts the phones of eligible women to remind them they are due or overdue an appointment, with new functionality being developed to enable millions to book screening through the NHS App later this year.

The service will be expanded to include reminders, invites, and booking for cervical screening tests later in 2025.