Bowel cancer screening age to be lowered to 58, home tests to be made available

Health Minister Simeon Brown says lowering the screening age means thousands more people will now have access to life-saving testing, giving them the best chance of having bowel cancer detected early. Photo / Brydie Thompson

More Kiwis will get access to free bowel cancer screening now the starting age is set to be lowered from 60 to 58 years old.

The change will come into effect on Monday for Northland, Auckland and the South Island.

It will be introduced across the rest of the North Island in March next year.

Health Minister Simeon Brown said the idea was to prevent deaths and match the screening age in Australia.

“This means thousands more people will now have access to life-saving testing, giving them the best chance of having bowel cancer detected early, when it can often be successfully treated,” Brown said.

The move would enable 122,000 extra Kiwis to become eligible for the screening in the first year, the Government said.

It estimated that during the next 25 years, about 771 cases of bowel cancer could be prevented and 566 lives saved based on current cancer rates.

A simple at-home test for those suspected of having bowel cancer symptoms is also set to be brought in.

It is a non-invasive test that uses a stool sample to look for traces of blood – an early warning sign of bowel cancer.

It has already been launched in Waikato and is called FIT for Symptomatic.

The next launches are planned in two months in Hawke’s Bay and Auckland’s Counties Manukau and Waitematā, followed by a full nationwide rollout next year.

The test is expected to reduce colonoscopy referrals by 30%-60%, Brown said.

“This will free up specialist capacity by prioritising colonoscopies for those at highest risk and reducing unnecessary referrals, leading to shorter wait times, faster diagnoses, and more resources to expand screening,” he said.

That will work in conjunction with a plan to boost capacity to allow for 7100 extra colonoscopies through to July 2026, he said.

“Bowel cancer is New Zealand’s second-biggest cancer killer,” Brown said.

“We are taking action that will save hundreds of lives.”

The announcement comes after TV personality Paddy Gower grappled with a potential surprise bowel cancer diagnosis on his own television show recently.

Paddy Gower on the September 23 episode of Paddy Gower Has Issues. Photo / Three

It happened while Gower was filmed getting a colonoscopy for a segment on his current affairs show Paddy Gower Has Issues.

The piece had been calling for a lowering of the screening age.

“Screening and catching bowel cancer early, saves lives,” Gower said when introducing the episode.

What the audience didn’t know was that the award-winning journalist was talking about himself.

During the endoscopic examination, two growths were found to be developing in Gower’s bowels.

The 48-year-old told the Herald his mum died of cancer, and one of his greatest fears was getting the disease himself.

“To hear that I had a pre-cancerous growth ... it was really quite frightening,” he said.

Colorectal surgeon Frank Frizell, who performed the private procedure out of hours, told the journalist, “It’s good that you’re having this procedure given what I’ve seen already.”

Post-procedure, the surgeon explained that one of the polyps was pre-cancerous and if left untreated, it presented “a high chance of turning up as more mischief for you”.

The revelation gave the reporter a personal perspective on calls to widen access to bowel cancer screening.

“In eight to 10 years, it would be a full bowel cancer. I’d still be beneath the current screening age of 60,” he said of the previous age limit.

Aimee-Rose Yates, Bowel Cancer New Zealand ambassador, died in July, aged 32. Photo / Supplied

At 48 and with no symptoms, Gower wouldn’t meet current criteria to access a colonoscopy. This brought up a range of emotions for him.

“I feel really bad having got one. I got it as a TV stunt to show people what it can do.

“You just think of all the other people out there that have those pre-cancerous growths like what I had, your mind boggles. To think that there’s 20,000 people with symptoms [on the current waiting list], it’s just absolutely heartbreaking.”

Another heartbreaking aspect of the episode involved Aimee-Rose Yates, a Bowel Cancer New Zealand ambassador, who died in July, aged 32.

During a 2023 election debate, Yates challenged Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins, who were Opposition leader and Prime Minister respectively at the time, to lower the national bowel cancer screening age from 60 to 45, the age Australia currently screens from. Both agreed.

Screening age changes

• People turning 58, 59 or 60 will be mailed a bowel screening kit around their next birthday or contacted by their local health provider. The test is simple to do at home and can both detect bowel cancer early and identify polyps before they develop into cancer.
• Since the national bowel screening programme began in July 2017, more than 2.53 million home test kits have been sent out and nearly 3000 cancers have been detected. At least 40% of these cancers were found at an early stage, when they can often be successfully treated.
• Bowel screening is for people who have no symptoms of bowel cancer. People should see their doctor as soon as possible if they have symptoms such as blood in their bowel motion or a change in bowel habits.