Increasing bowel cancer screening in general practice

Australians aged 45 to 74 are eligible to do a bowel screening test every two years through the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP). Participation will help detect the early signs of bowel cancer before symptoms occur.

People aged 50 to 74 receive a free bowel screening test in the mail every two years, while people aged 45 to 49 can opt-in to the program by requesting a kit from the National Cancer Screening Register.

Research shows only 42.6 per cent of Victorians aged 50 to 74 years are participating in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (2021-22). In particular, people aged 50 to 54 are still our lowest screeners at 34.3% participation.  

To address low bowel screening participation rates, Cancer Council Victoria is asking healthcare professionals to speak to their eligible patients about the importance of bowel screening. While it is important to encourage all eligible patients to participate, we want to drive participation with younger Victorians aged 45 to 54, who we know are participating at a lower rate. 

Health professionals play a critical role in supporting eligible patients to participate in the NBCSP. Find out how to promote screening in your practice.

As a GP your role is to:

• Understand the NBCSP and the evidence behind it.
• Manage patients with symptoms (of any age) as per the guidelines: Clinical practice guidelines for the prevention, early detection and management of colorectal cancer.  
• Educate, discuss, remind and encourage eligible patients to participate in screening when clinically appropriate.
• Manage participants via the National Cancer Screening Register. 

If a patient receives a positive test result:

• Arrange a follow-up appointment with the patient to discuss the results (the NBSCP will also contact the patient directly).  
• If referring for colonoscopy, complete a referral and state the patient has a positive iFOBT as a NBCSP participant (this ensures they are waitlisted as category 1).
• Notify the National Cancer Screening Register about the referral (or non-referral) for colonoscopy.

As a Practice Nurse, you can support screening by:

• Promoting the program in your practice with posters, brochures, newsletter articles and via social media channels. See Waiting Room Resources.
• Talk with patients aged 45 to 74 about the importance of screening.
• Show patients how to use the kit using a Demonstration Kit.
• Share translated test kit instructions with multicultural patients - available in 22 languages.
• Bulk order NBCSP screening kits for your practice via the Alternative Access to Kits Model.
• Create a bowel screening display in your practice waiting room intermittently to promote bowel screening awareness and participation.

As a Practice Manager, you can initiate system changes and conduct a screening audit of practice records and send a letter to eligible patients to encourage participation in the program.

Learn more about bowel screening, reorder a replacement test or set a reminder at Cancer Council Victoria’s website.

Patients can also speak to an experienced cancer nurse on 13 11 20 for information and support, it is available for anyone affected by cancer. 

Increase capacity and confidence to promote the NBCSP to your eligible patients using the free training links below.

Breast, Bowel and Cervical Screening Clinical Education Course

Provided by the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer (ACPCC) this course contains information on the three national cancer screening programs, general information about how to promote screening and a specific module on under screened populations. Learn more about the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, as well as the other national cancer screening programs through this CPD accredited course.

This FREE online education module is CPD accredited for 5.52 education hours.

Access the course

Clinical Management and Screening for Bowel Cancer eLearning Module  

Developed by Cancer Council Western Australia this comprehensive and highly engaging online learning module is tailored for primary healthcare professionals, such as GPs, nurses and Aboriginal Health Workers.  

This module split into two units, and aims to define your role in bowel cancer prevention, early diagnosis and screening. It offers practical tips and case studies to support your learning as a healthcare professional.  

This FREE online education module is CPD accredited for 2 education hours.

Access the course

The NBCSP is supported by the National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR), which invites, reminds and follows up participants to screen. The NCSR Healthcare Provider Portal is a secure environment to access and submit screening data, as well as bulk order bowel screening kits and register kits issued to participants as part of the alternative access to kits model.

You can use the portal to:

• bulk order bowel screening kits for your practice and register a kit issued to a patient
• access your patients' bowel and cervical screening results and histories online
• prepare for patient appointments by checking if they are due for screening or follow up
• submit forms and reports electronically
• update your patients' information
• order a bowel screening kit to be sent to a patient’s home address.

Access the National Cancer Screening Register

Healthcare providers can bulk order National Bowel Cancer Screening Program kits and issue them directly to eligible patients. This provides the opportunity to explain why the test is important and how to do it. This is in addition to the mail-out model, where kits are mailed directly to eligible people aged 50 to 74 years by the National Cancer Screening Register.

Many patients are more likely to screen when it has been recommended to them by their health care professional. With your encouragement, the Alternative Access to Kits Model is targeting people less likely to screen and those who have never screened. Once people screen for the first time, we know they are more likely to keep screening.

Find out more about the Alternative Access to Kits Model

Cancer Council Victoria has a range of free resources available for your waiting room, including brochures, posters and fact sheets.

Download or order resources

• More than 90 per cent of bowel cancers can be successfully treated if found early. 
• Bowel cancer is the second biggest cause of cancer death in Australia.  
• Aged 45 to 74? Don’t take the risk, take the test. 
• Bowel cancer can develop without any symptoms and without a family history.
• If you’re aged 45 to 74 you should do the free bowel screening test every two years.
• When you get your bowel screening kit in the mail, open it up and put the test in your bathroom. You can set a reminder to do the test via the Cancer Council Victoria website at www.cancervic.org.au/bowel.
• If you’ve misplaced, lost or your bowel screening test has expired, order a replacement at the National Bowel Screening Register.

Title: Don’t take the risk, take the free bowel screening test!

Cancer Council Victoria is urging Victorians aged 45 to 74 to priortise bowel screening to help find bowel cancer early and ensure they live long, healthy lives.

Eligible Australians aged 50 to 74 years are sent a free bowel screening test every two years as part of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP). People aged 45 to 49 can order a free kit online at ncsr.gov.au/boweltest or by calling the National Cancer Screening Register on 1800 627 701.  

Bowel screening participation in the NBCSP sits at only 42.6 per cent in Victoria (2021-2022). However, more than 90 per cent of bowel cancers can be successfully treated if they are found early. That’s why we are encouraging our patients to complete the free bowel screening test, this can save your life. 

Learn more about bowel screening, reorder a replacement test or set a reminder via Cancer Council Victoria’s website cancervic.org.au/bowel.

People from multicultural backgrounds face unique barriers to bowel screening.

These barriers include:

• A belief that eating a vegetarian diet will protect them.
• Fear of the test bringing a fatal diagnosis or bad karma.
• Hesitancy around storing the test sample in the fridge.
• Having no symptoms.
• Assuming this is not a disease which affects their community.

This is why we have created a suite of bowel screening resources for the Punjabi, Hindi and Vietnamese-speaking communities.  

Use the below social media copy, social media tiles and translated website pages to help promote bowel screening to these communities through your networks. 

You can find more information on our translated websites:

• Punjabi: www.cancervic.org.au/bowel/punjabi
• Hindi: www.cancervic.org.au/bowel/hindi
• Vietnamese: www.cancervic.org.au/bowel/vietnamese