NHS England’s Bowel Cancer Screening Programme aims to find warning signs in people aged 60 to 74. They are invited to take a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) every two years at home. Those age 75yrs plus can request a screening kit by calling 0800 707 6060.

If there has been a problem with performing the FIT kit or returning it to the screening programme, please contact the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme on 0800 707 60 60 who will be happy to send you a further FIT kit.

You may chose not to return your FIT kit. To ensure that you are fully aware of the decision that you have made we would like to encourage you to visit the bowel cancer screening pages of the NHS website for further information and support, including information and a video on how to use the home test kit. You can also phone and book a routine telephone or face to face appointment with a GP to discuss.

It is not mandatory to participate, but as your GP practice, it is something we would highly recommend that you did participate in.

Always contact your GP if you have symptoms of bowel cancer at any age, even if you have recently completed an NHS bowel cancer screening test kit – do not wait to have a screening test.

The symptoms of bowel cancer can be subtle and do not necessarily make you feel ill. More than 90% of people with bowel cancer have one of the following combinations of symptoms:

• a persistent change in bowel habit – pooing more often, with looser, runnier poos and sometimes tummy (abdominal) pain
• blood in the poo without other symptoms of piles (haemorrhoids) – this makes it unlikely the cause is haemorrhoids
• abdominal pain, discomfort or bloating always brought on by eating – sometimes resulting in a reduction in the amount of food eaten and weight loss

The NHS Breast Screening Programme invites all women from the age of 50 to 70 for screening every 3 years. This means that some people may not have their first screening mammogram until they are 52 or 53 years.

North Yorkshire Breast Screening Service is run from York and Scarborough Teaching Hospital’s NHS Trust.

You will receive and appointment direct from the Breast Screening Service. If you have any queries or you need to re-arrange an appointment, please contact the Breast Cancer Screening Programme office on 01904 725590 or 01904 725591.

If you chose not to attend your mammogram, we would like to encourage you to either visit the breast screening pages of the Gov.uk website or phone and book a routine telephone or face to face appointment with a GP to discuss. This is so that we can ensure that you are fully aware of the decision that you have made. It is of course not mandatory to participate, but as your GP, it is something we would highly recommend that you did participate in.

Always contact your GP if you have symptoms of breast cancer at any age, even if you have recently attended a screening – do not wait to have for another invite.

You can find out more about the symptoms of breast cancer on the NHS website.

The NHS cervical screening programme invites women from age 25 to 64 for cervical screening. Depending on where you live and your age, you get an invite every 3 to 5 years.

Some patients do not responded invitations to have a cervical smear performed.  This may be because they have been too busy, too frightened, too embarrassed, or a combination of these, to have it performed.

Regular cervical screening is the best way to detect early changes to the cervix (neck of the womb). Early detection and treatment can prevent cancer developing in around 80% to 90% of cases.

If your difficulty is finding time to get to the practice, please phone and talk to our practice support team. There are several options available including evening and weekends appointments at Catterick.

If you have any other queries or concerns, please see the cervical screening pages of the NHS website or the Cancer Research UK site or telephone to discuss your problem with either a Practice Nurse or a GP so that we can ensure that you are fully aware of the decision that you have made.

It is, of course, not mandatory to participate in this screening programme, however as your GP, it is something we would highly recommend that you did participate in.

Always contact your GP if you have symptoms of cervical cancer, even if you have recently had a cancer screening.

For more information on the symptoms of cervical cancer visit the NHS website.