HEALTH managers hope uptake of screening for bowel cancer is on the increase after concerns over a drop in people sending back home testing kits.

Latest official figures show 55 per cent of people aged 60 to 69 returned stool sample kits posted to homes by the NHS from April to June last year.

That was compared to 56.9 per cent in the same period in 2011, a year after the scheme was rolled out across Oxfordshire, rising to 59.6 per cent in January to March 2013.

Retired Eynsham BUPA director Chris Gallaher, who had a tumour successfully removed after the test flagged up concerns in 2013, urged people to return a sample.

The 75-year-old said he suspects men are more likely to not send the test back despite it affecting one in 20 UK people.

He said: “It is likely they think it won’t be an issue.

“Once I had this problem, people I have told have taken it on board and sent it off, which they wouldn’t have done before.”

The Mill Street resident, married to Sandy for 33 years, said: “I nearly didn’t send my test off and it was my wife who said ‘send it’.”

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Latest figures show that tests returned by those aged 70 to 74 dropped from 60.2 per cent from April to June, when they were launched, to 55.5 per cent in October to December 2013.

But health service leaders said unconfirmed data for July to September last year shows take-up at 57 per cent and indications are this has been 59 per cent in further months.

The test is sent to over 60s every two years and does not diagnose the disease but can detect blood in faeces, a possible sign of bowel cancer.

An NHS England report said uptake had fallen to about 52 per cent nationally.

adding: “This is a cause for concern because bowel cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths and early detection can significantly improve survival rates. Uptake of screening in Oxfordshire is, however, higher than regional or national averages.”

Spokesman Aysha Awan said awareness campaigns can lead to more tests being returned.

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