Bowel cancer screening rates drop for second year in a row [Video]

Participation rates in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program have fallen for a second year, causing concern amongst experts.

Around 6 million Australians aged 50-74 were sent out free bowel cancer screening kits in the mail in 2022, yet only 40 per cent chose to take the test, new data from the program’s 2024 Monitoring Report shows.

This figure is a further drop of almost one per cent on participation rates in 2021, which were 40.9 per cent.

Bowel Cancer Australia CEO Julien Wiggins said in a news release the decrease in participation rates was worrying.

“This is the second consecutive year of declining participation rates since 2020, which is of concern, given the program’s life-saving potential as 99 per cent of bowel cancer cases can be successfully treated when detected early,” he said.

Of those who chose to take a bowel cancer screening test as part of the program in …