West London Bowel Cancer Screening

Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK, affecting around 34,000 people a year. Around 16,000 people will lose their life to bowel cancer every year, making it the second biggest killer cancer. Around one in
20 women and one in 18 men will develop bowel cancer in their lifetime.

In order to tackle this growing problem, the Department of Health has developed a national bowel cancer screening programme. This programme began in June 2006 and is currently being rolled out across the UK. It is estimated that through regular screening, the risk of dying from bowel cancer will be reduced by 16 percent.

The West London Bowel Cancer Screening Centre was opened in September 2007 at Charing Cross Hospital.