Scans & Tests · Change in bowel habit

Scans and tests your GP or consultant may recommend for Change in bowel habit

This is information about which scans and tests may be used to assess Change in bowel habit, and what each one is: not a recommendation. Your clinician decides which scan or test, if any, you need. Prices below are typical UK private ranges; enter your postcode to see the NHS wait near you.

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Usually a FIT test first

A change in bowel habit is usually first checked with a FIT test, a simple home stool test that looks for tiny traces of blood, along with blood tests. These are tests, not scans.

Colonoscopy

A bowel camera test, not a scan, used to look directly at the lining of the bowel.

Sources: NICE (DG56), NHS. [1] (opens in new tab)

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Wait or Pay is independent and is not the NHS. NHS waits are from DM01 diagnostics data. Nothing here is medical advice; your clinician decides which scan, if any, you need.

How long will you really wait, and how could you go sooner?

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