Screening centre marks 20 years of preventing bowel cancer
St Mark's Bowel Cancer Screening Centre is celebrating 20 years of helping to save lives through the early detection and prevention of bowel cancer.
The centre has supported thousands of people across Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon and parts of Ealing identifying early signs of bowel cancer and helping patients access further investigation and treatment when needed.
Sarah Marshall, Clinical Manager, has been with the service since its launch in 2006 at Northwick Park Hospital (pictured far left in photo of original team) and seen it evolve dramatically over the past two decades.
Sarah said: "When we first opened, we had little dedicated space or equipment. I didn't even have a desk or chair and spent my first few months borrowing office space wherever I could find it. It was a very different service then.
"Today, we're proud to have the only purpose-built bowel cancer screening centre in the country, following significant investment in the refurbishment and upgrade of our endoscopy and screening facilities."
The service has grown substantially since its early days. In its first full year of operation in 2007 it sent out 41,871 home screening kits to people aged 60 to 69 and carried out around 10 colonoscopies each week.
This has increased to more than 162,000 kits a year, with up to 40 colonoscopies performed each week for patients aged 50 to 74 in 2026.
The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme offers free home testing kits every two years to eligible people. From 2026, everyone aged 50 and over who is registered with a GP will receive a kit every two years until their 75th birthday.
The simple self-test can detect tiny traces of blood in stool samples that are not visible to the naked eye. If an abnormal result is found, patients are invited to meet with a specialist screening practitioner to discuss further investigations, including a colonoscopy, which can identify and remove pre-cancerous polyps before they develop into cancer.
Sarah said: "The risk of developing bowel cancer increases significantly after the age of 50, which is why screening is so important.
"Our role is not only to detect cancer at an early stage-but help prevent it altogether by identifying and removing polyps before they become cancerous.
"For most people, screening provides reassurance and peace of mind. For others, it offers the opportunity to detect issues early, when treatment is often more effective."
The centre has continued to expand and adapt over the years.
In 2023, it incorporated Lynch Syndrome colonoscopy surveillance into the National Screening Programme, offering regular monitoring for people at higher genetic risk of developing bowel cancer.
It has also widened eligibility, introduced easier and more accurate testing kits, maintained services during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to embrace new developments. Over the next year, the programme is expected to introduce even more sensitive testing by lowering the threshold for blood detection in stool samples.
Sarah added: "We're here to make the screening journey as straightforward as possible. From the convenience of home testing to supporting patients through further investigations and liaising with local hospitals when additional treatment is needed. Our focus is on delivering a seamless high-quality care in first-class facilities."