Thankfully symptoms (https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/about-bowel-cancer/symptoms/) often present early, and with early treatment, the outcomes are generally good, around 92% for Stage I survival after 5 years. (source: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html)
But, of course, there's a screening test. FOBT has long been used for this purpose. Well, how good is this screening test? Fortunately, to stop me boring you with all the detail, the Harding Center for Risk Literacy has done all the hard work for me:
So, what does this tell us? In 1000 people without screening, 10 people will be diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer, and 7 of them will die from it.
In 1000 people who did have screening, 9 will be diagnosed correctly, but 6 will still die from colorectal cancer. However, 6 people will be told that they don't have cancer, when in fact they do, delaying treatment that could be disastrous.
So screening saved 1 life, but potentially killed another 6 people by missing their cancer.
They screen, because they can. That doesn't mean that it's good for your health to accept the invitation.
Promptly investigating symptoms is, in my opinion, a far better choice than bowel screening.
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