HEALTH officials are no strangers to campaigns that fail to achieve 100 per cent engagement from the public.

They are working hard to improve public health by promoting tests and initiatives with the aim, often, of early detection.

Yet it is still worrying that only just over half of people aged between 60 and 75 have bothered to return a kit designed to indicate if they are at risk of developing bowel cancer.

That works out at roughly 11,500 people who are oblivious to a serious risk to their lives.

Not all of them will develop bowel cancer but it is troubling that there are so many people who, even when health officials are literally delivering the means for a test through their front door, are not using it.

Some of this will be down to forgetfulness or laziness, and some down to embarassment.

But we are talking about a killer disease and it is neither forgetful, lazy or embarrassed when it strikes down a victim.