Colorectal cancer screening

• Wellbeing services counties are obliged by law to arrange colorectal cancer screening for their residents. HUS mails the screening invitations and functions as the screening center for wellbeing services counties in Uusimaa, Kymenlaakso and South Karelia. 

More information about colorectal cancer and screening:

Colores: About Colorectal Cancer - Symptoms, Treatment, Prognosis

Free from Cancer: Colorectal Cancer Screening

• Colorectal cancer screening uses the FIT test, which can detect hidden blood in the stool. The colorectal tumor may bleed a little but the blood is not visible to the naked eye at the early stage. The test can detect blood in the stool before it is visible to the naked eye. This allows us to diagnose the cancer at an early stage and treat it before it has a chance to progress further.

• The stool-based screening is a free-of-charge service offered by your wellbeing services county.
• If blood is found in your stool sample and you undergo a colonoscopy, you will need to pay a regular outpatient clinic fee for the colonoscopy.

More information on client fees

• We submit a summary of the colorectal cancer screening tests it has performed to the Mass Screening Registry of the Finnish Cancer Registry. The Mass Screening Registry collects data on mass population screenings throughout Finland. Compiling and submitting the information to the Mass Screening Registry of the Finnish Cancer Registry is based on legislation.
• Additionally, we compile a summary about colorectal cancer screening to the wellbeing services counties that purchase the service from HUS. The summary delivered to the wellbeing services counties does not contain anyone's personal test results. 

• Check "When will my age group be screened?" to see when your age group is screened for colorectal cancer.
• We mail the invitations in staggered batches during the calendar year to those persons whose wellbeing services county has an agreement with HUS regarding screening services.
• We obtain the information of those invited for screening from the address extraction done by Digital and Population Data Services Agency. If you have recently moved and you have not received an invitation to the screening, see "I have not received an invitation – what should I do?".
• The age groups invited to screening receive an invitation every two years, because the test only reflects the situation at the time of testing.

We invite different age groups to colorectal cancer screening according to the list below. The list indicates the first year of screening. Thereafter, the screening will continue every two years until the age group reaches 74 years of age.

We send out screening invitations from February to November in three batches, based on birth date rather than calendar month:

The 1st batch: invitees born between the 1st and the 10th of the month.

The 2nd batch: invitees born between the 11th and the 20th of the month.

The 3rd batch: invitees born between the 21st and the 31st of the month.
 

Born in the 1970s

1976: First year of screening 2032

1975: First year of screening 2031

1974: First year of screening 2032

1973: First year of screening 2031

1972: First year of screening 2030

1971: First year of screening 2029

1970: First year of screening 2030

Born in the 1960s

1969: First year of screening 2029

1968: First year of screening 2028

1967: First year of screening 2027

1966: First year of screening 2026

1965: First year of screening 2025

1964: First year of screening 2024

1963: First year of screening 2023

1962: First year of screening 2022

1961: First year of screening 2023

1960: First year of screening 2022

Born in the 1950s

1959: First year of screening 2023

1958: First year of screening 2022

1957: First year of screening 2023

1956: First year of screening 2022

1955: First year of screening 2023

1954: First year of screening 2022

1953: First year of screening 2023

• You will receive the screening invitation to your home address. Along with the invitation, you will receive equipment for collecting a stool sample and a cardboard return envelope with paid postage.

• If you have received an invitation for colorectal cancer screening, you can fill in your health information for the screening online.

Fill in the health information form for colorectal cancer screening

• Make sure that you belong to the age group that is currently screened. See "When will my age group be screened?"
• Invitations are sent at a steady pace throughout the year. If you have not received your invitation by the end of the year, you can contact the laboratory customer service.
• If you have moved to Uusimaa, Kymenlaakso, or South Karelia from elsewhere in Finland or from abroad, you can contact the laboratory customer service to participate in the screening.

See here for contact details for the laboratory customer service

• If you have not returned the screening sample after the first invitation, you will receive a reminder after about six weeks.
• If you need a new sampling kit, you can order one online or by calling the laboratory customer service.
• If you need a new sampling kit, but you have recently moved to a new address within the HUS region, please call the laboratory customer service to order a new kit. This way, the kit will be delivered to the correct address.

Order a new sampling kit

See here for contact details for the laboratory customer service

• If you have obtained an order of non-disclosure for personal safety reasons and you want to participate in the screening, and you live in Uusimaa, Kymenlaakso or South Karelia, contact the laboratory customer service to participate in the screening.

See here for contact details for the laboratory customer service

• If you do not wish to participate in screening, you don’t have to do anything.
• You don’t have to notify us and you can discard the invitation letter.
• You will receive a new invitation every two years or so, until you turn 74.

• You take the screening sample at home by lightly rolling the testing stick in your stool. For instructions on how to take the sample, please refer to the sampling instructions enclosed with the invitation letter. 

• Everyone invited can participate in the screening, meaning that no illness or medication prevents you from participating.
• You do not need to fast, follow a special diet, or stop any of your medications when you take the sample.
• You can collect the sample at any time of the day.

• Store the sample tube at room temperature. Return the sample as soon as possible after collecting it.
• Return the sample in the cardboard envelope by bringing it to a return box in a HUS laboratory, or by mailing it no later than the next weekday after the sample is taken.
• HUS laboratories have a return machine or a return box marked with the text “Colorectal cancer screening” (Suolistosyöpäseulonta) for receiving samples.  You do not need to book an appointment to deliver the sample to the laboratory for analysis.
• You can also mail the return envelope to the laboratory. Return postage has been paid.  

You find contact details for all HUS laboratories here.

• You will need a new sampling kit if the sample tube has been damaged in any way (e.g. the tube does not contain any liquid) or if your invitation package is missing the sample tube altogether.
• You will also need a new sampling kit if it is not possible to read the series of characters starting with H or the bar code on the sample ID sticker.
• Sign in to the screening service. You user ID is the sample ID (starts with the letter H) you can find below the bar in the invitation letter. The password is the first six digits of your personal identity code.
• Select "Order a new sampling kit".
• You can also order a new sampling kit by calling the laboratory customer service.

Order a new sampling kit

See here for contact details for the laboratory customer service

• You will receive the results by letter at your home address within approximately one month of the date your sample is received for testing. Laboratory test results will not be given out over the phone.
• A negative or normal result means that no blood was detected in your sample. The next screening invitation will arrive in two years.
• Around four out of every hundred screening participants will test positive. A positive result means that blood was detected in your sample. Blood in the stool does not necessarily signify colorectal cancer or its precursors. It can be due to other causes. To determine the cause, further examinations are needed, and you will receive more information about them in the response letter.  

• If blood is discovered in the screening sample, a colonoscopy is usually performed. Around four out of every hundred screening participants invited for a colonoscopy. A majority of them are not diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
• The colonoscopy is performed by using a pliable endoscope. During the colonoscopy, your doctor may take biopsies and remove mucosal changes called polyps that have the potential to become cancerous.
• If blood is discovered in your screening sample, the screening nurse in your home municipality can provide you with more information on the examination and how to prepare.