AN EAST Lothian mum who credits a DIY screening kit with saving her life is urging others to take the test.

Carol Black is the latest person to join the ‘bowel movement’ sweeping Scotland.

Carol, 52, from Prestonpans, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in June after taking a test at home.

And she says she now encourages everyone to do the test after it saved her life.

Carol, who is part of the management team at The Gothenburg pub in her hometown, said: “I now encourage everyone I know to take part in screening, even if they feel well, as it can often spot hidden symptoms.

“I feel reassured that I have a couple of friends who now take the test, who before this happened to me would just put the testing kit in the bin when it arrived in the post. If anything, it gives you peace of mind that everything is OK.”

More than half a million people in Scotland do their bowel screening test every year. The test is sent through the post and offered to those aged 50-74 every two years.

When a bowel screening test was delivered to Carol’s home for the first time two years ago at the age of 50, she didn’t think twice about taking the test. She sent it away and the results came back negative a few weeks later.

But it was a different story when she took her most recent bowel screening test in May this year, which showed traces of blood in her sample. She was asked to repeat the test, which showed the same result, and was invited for a colonoscopy where a tumour was detected.

Carol said: “I remember asking the doctor after the colonoscopy to be honest with me and to tell me if he thought there was anything I should be worried about. He was so kind and told me it was a tumour and that he was sure they’d caught it early.

“Three weeks later, after a scan, the results showed the cancer hadn’t spread and I was fit for an operation to remove the tumour. Surgery was a success – I didn’t need any chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which was a relief.”

Emma Anderson, head of Scotland, Bowel Cancer UK, said: “In October, on average around 1,680 bowel screening tests are returned every day in Scotland, but we know that not everyone who receives their test does it. Bowel cancer is very treatable, and even curable, if diagnosed at an early stage, so it is important to do your test and not delay when it comes through your letter box.”

For more information, or to find out about a replacement test, visit getcheckedearly.org