We encourage Australians to participate in appropriate screening for bowel cancer. 

Screening involves a test for bowel cancer in people who do not have any obvious symptoms of the disease.  The aim is to find any polyps or to find cancer early when they are easier to treat and cure.

Please see the diagram below regarding your bowel cancer screening options.

• Download Bowel Cancer Screening Diagram (PDF)

Bowel cancer can develop without any early warning signs. The cancer can grow on the inside wall of the bowel for several years before spreading to other parts of the body. Often very small amount of blood leak from these growth and pass into the bowel motion before any symptoms are noticed.

A test called a Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) can detect these small amounts of blood in your bowel motion. The FOBT looks for blood in your bowel motion, but not for bowel cancer itself.

The FOBT is a simple test that you can do at home. It involves placing small samples of stool on special cards and sending them to a pathology laboratory for analysis. The results are then sent back to you and your doctor.

Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) kit to check for blood in stool.
Image courtesy of the National Cancer Institute.

Your FOBT result is negative if no blood is found in your samples and it is recommended that you repeat a FOBT at least every two years. However, this does not mean that you do not have, or can never develop, bowel cancer, since some bowel cancers do not bleed or only bleed on and off.

In between times, if you develop any symptoms of bowel cancer, see your doctor immediately.

Your FOBT result is positive if blood is present in your samples. If blood is detected, you should contact your doctor immediately to discuss the result. The presence of blood may be due to conditions other than cancer, such as polyps, haemorrhoids, or inflammation of the bowel, but the cause of bleeding needs to be investigated.

We encourage all Australians who are aged 50 and over, who do not have symptoms or a family history of bowel cancer, to undertake bowel cancer screening.

There are two main types of Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) - immunochemical tests and traditional chemical (guaiac) tests.

The immunochemical FOBT has been selected as the preferred testing method for the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, in contrast to the guaiac FOBT, as it has no restrictions on diet or medication. The type of immunochemical FOBT being used in the Program is called Detect™ (Siemens Medical), but is not available for purchase by the public.

InSure® is a type of immunochemical FOBT available for purchase by the public.  The test is made by Enterix Australia and is available from Bowel Cancer Australia. 

Please note the test costs around $36.00 and payment is required on return of test to Enterix Australia, which includes provision of the test, return postage, pathology analysis and result reporting to the patient and doctor. 

Bowel Cancer Australia does not receive any benefit, financial or otherwise, in return for distributing the InSure® test.

To request an Immunochemical FOBT click here.

Guaiac FOBTs require a person not to consume red meat, specific fruit and vegetables (for example, raw broccoli,) vitamin C supplements, aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs for three days prior to taking the first test sample and throughout the testing period.

Rotary Bowelscan uses a Hemoccult II Guaiac FOBT and is available for purchase by the public.

Please note the test costs $10 and payment is required on return on the test to Rotary Bowelscan, which includes provision of the test, pathology analysis and result reporting to patient and doctor.

Bowel Cancer Australia does not receive any benefit, financial or otherwise, in return for distributing the Rotary Bowelscan test.  Bowel Cancer Australia sponsors Rotary Bowelscan.

To request a Guaiac FOBT click here

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is being phased in over a number of years by the Australian Government.

Free bowel cancer screening tests are being offered to Australians turning 50, 55 or 65 between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2010.

People eligible to participate in the Program will receive an invitation through the mail to complete a simple test called a Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) in the privacy of their home and mail it to a laboratory for analysis.

The immunochemical FOBT has been selected as the preferred testing method for the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, in contrast to the guaiac FOBT, as it has no restrictions on diet or medication.  The type of immunochemical FOBT being used in the Program is called Detect™ (Siemens Medical), but is not available for purchase by the public.

The test looks for blood in bowel motions, which may be a sign of bowel cancer.

These screening tests have been shown in overseas clinical trials and in the Bowel Cancer Screening Pilot Program to be simple to use and highly effective.

Participants with a positive FOBT will be advised to discuss the result with their doctor, who will generally refer them for further investigations, usually a colonoscopy.

For more information visit the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program or the It’s Crunch Time websites.

We support the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program
and encourage participation by eligible Australians.