Thousands of people are needlessly dying of bowel cancer because they are too embarrassed to get screened, health officials have warned.
New figures show 41 per cent of eligible over-60s ignored invitations to take part in the national bowel cancer screening programme last year.
Uptake is particularly bad among men – with nearly half failing to take part.
Public Health England last night warned that embarrassment is a key reason that people don’t take part.
Last year 45 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women failed to return their samples. It is the lowest uptake out of any of the national cancer screening programmes
The screening programme, which includes everyone aged 60 to 74, involves providing a stool sample and sending it to a lab in a sealed bag.
Everyone in this age group is sent a screening kit every two years.
But last year 45 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women failed to return their samples.
It is the lowest uptake out of any of the national cancer screening programmes – with only 24 per cent failing to take part in the breast cancer programme and 28 per cent ignoring invitations for cervical screening.
Officials last night urged wives and daughters to encourage the older men in the family to ‘overcome any embarrassment’ and send in a sample to be tested.
Professor Anne Mackie, PHE’s director of screening, said: ‘It’s of great concern that four out of every ten over 60 year olds are not taking up the offer of getting tested for bowel cancer.
‘Men in particular are less likely to send in a sample, so we’re asking their partners, children and grandchildren to encourage them to do so.
Professor Anne Mackie, Public Health England’s director of screening, described the situation as concerning but said a new home testing kit could make things better
‘Embarrassment over giving a stool sample may be causing thousands of preventable deaths.
‘But with a new home test kit next year making it much easier to get screened we are hoping to see numbers increase.’
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in Britain, with 41,000 cases a year, but the second leading cause of cancer deaths, with around 16,000 people killed.
Yet if detected early, bowel cancer is very treatable, with 3,000 cases diagnosed as a result of screening in 2016/17.
In more than 90 per cent of these cases, cancers were found at an early stage, where treatment is more likely to be successful.
Improvements are being made to make screening easier and next year there will be a new home test, the faecal immunochemical test, which requires just one sample rather than the current three, and will detect bowel cancer more accurately.
In addition to the home test, a one-off test called bowel scope screening is offered at the age of 55.
Judith Brodie of the Beating Bowel Cancer charity, said: ‘People may feel uncomfortable completing their home screening tests, but they can be crucial in the early diagnosis of bowel cancer – which is very treatable if caught early. We strongly encourage the use of these bowel screening tests – they can be life-saving.’