Bowel Cancer Home Tests Cancer Research UK say that around 35,000 men and women are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year. About 16,000 men and women will die of this disease every year. Bowel cancer generally affects men and women over the age of 60, although 2 out every 10 diagnosed will be under 60. Bowel cancer can be detected using a simple stool test that looks for faecal occult (non visible) blood. At WellCare we have been including this test in our full screens for many years and we are now pleased to offer it as a stand alone home test. Based on statistics from Cancer Research UK and results from the Department of Health's own pilot studies into bowel cancer testing WellCare recommends that all men and women over 60 should undergo a bowel cancer test annually or at least once every two years. The same statistics show around 7,000 of the new cases of bowel cancer diagnosed each year are in the under 60's. Based on this WellCare suggests if you are over 40 and have any of the symptoms described in "Your Questions Answered" section that you also take the bowel cancer home test. Five simple steps to your Bowel Cancer Home Test Step 1 You receive the home test kit in an unmarked envelope complete with easy to use instructions Step 2 Over 3 days you collect 3 pea-sized stool samples and apply a thin sample on a test card on each of the 3 days Step 3 After you have collected the third sample on day 3 you send all 3 samples back to WellCare in a special pre-paid packing envelope Step 4 WellCare will analyse your Occult blood test within 2 working days of receiving your sample Step 5 WellCare will phone you with the result or post the result to you, depending on which you requested* *If your test is POSITIVE, a WellCare doctor will phone you with the results and advise you of your treatment plan options.