A BOWEL cancer survivor has said it was a "no brainer" for the Government to introduce a new screening test for the deadly disease.

Joy Dansette was diagnosed with the condition in 2013 after receiving a screening kit in the post after turning 60 and told without urgent surgery she would only have three months to live.

The mum-of-two has now added her voice to that of Bowel Cancer UK, which announced if the Government did not approve a new screening test then lives will be lost.

The charity wants the guaiac Faecal Occult Blood Test (gFOBT) screening test to be replaced by the simpler and more accurate Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT).

It is claimed the new test, which is recommended by the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC), is simpler and more accurate because it can flag up at-risk patients with one sample instead of three.

Mrs Dansette, who is now in remission after having an operation a course of chemotherapy to remove the cancer, said making the test as simple as it can be will save lives.

She added: "I hear lots of people who refuse to do it because they think it's disgusting, but i say it's like going to the loo and it can save your life.

"I had no symptoms, it would have been too late when I found out if I hadn't done the test.

"If they are saving lives then they are saving all the money that would have been spent on chemotherapy drugs and treatment.

"If it's a simple test and not too expensive then it's a no brainer."

Former teacher Mrs Dansette, from South Newington, told the Oxford Mail she originally ignored the screening kit when it was posted through her letterbox.

But one day, when she was off school with a cold, she did the test and it came back positive. After doing two more tests which came back negative then positive, she was invited to the Horton General Hospital for a colonoscopy.

After the examination she was told she had a tumour so big she would die within three months without surgery.

Bowel cancer is the second most deadly cancer in the UK, with 16,200 people dying each year.

But if caught early through screening it is entirely treatable and Bowel Cancer UK is urging the government to introduce the new FIT test to make earlier diagnosis easier.

In Oxfordshire about 58 per cent of people sent the screening kit do the test and send it back, exactly in line with the national average.