Hi Focus136 and thank you for your post.

I am sorry to read about your bowel cancer diagnosis. It must have come as quite a shock. I can appreciate that you are trying to comprehend how this situation could have occurred.

Bowel cancer screening uses a test called a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) to look for blood in a sample of your poo.

A negative result means the test did not find enough blood in your sample at that time. This does not guarantee that polyps or cancer are not present. Some cancers do not bleed all the time, and sometimes the amount of blood is too small for the test to detect. The result simply showed that, based on what was found then, you did not need more checks straight away. These tests are very helpful, but they aren’t perfect.

Bowel screening is recommended every two years for people aged between 50-74. If you have any concerns or notice any changes to your bowel habits within the two years then you are encouraged to speak to your GP.

 While most cancers grow slowly, sometimes they can grow more quickly, or may have been a type that was difficult to detect in the earlier test. Your hospital specialist may be able to tell you more about why this has happened.

We have information on living with bowel cancer which you may find helpful.

Please get back to us if you need any more information or support

It might help to talk things through with one of our nurses on the helpline. You can call for free on 0808 800 4040, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Kind regards

Tina