Colorectal cancer screening

In 2022, 60- to 68-year-olds born in 1954, 1956, 1958, 1960 or 1962, will be invited to colorectal cancer screening. Colorectal cancer screening will be expanded in stages so that in 2032 everyone aged 56 to 74 will be invited.  

HUS Diagnostic Center will mail the invitations in staggered batches during the calendar year to those persons whose home municipality has an agreement with HUS Diagnostic Center regarding screening services. The invitations to screening are printed by month of birth. Those born in the beginning of the year will receive the invitation first and those born at the end of the year will receive it last. The year of birth has no effect on the printing order.

HUS Diagnostic Center obtains the information of those invited for screening from the address extraction done by Digital and Population Data Services Agency in large batches. If you have moved after the addresses were extracted for your municipality, the laboratory will not have your updated address information and the address will not be corrected until the next screening invites are sent. 

If you have obtained an order of non-disclosure for personal safety reasons (turvakielto in Finnish), we will not be able to acquire your contact information from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.  

For clients with an order of non-disclosure for personal safety reasons, screening is estimated to start in December 2022. 

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. The test does not cost you anything. The language of the screening invitation letter is determined by the information provided by the Digital and Population Data Services agency: Swedish-speaking people receive the invitation in Swedish, others receive a bilingual invitation (in Finnish and English).

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. 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. You do not need to book an appointment to deliver the sample to the laboratory for analysis.

Everyone who has been invited is eligible to participate. No preparations are necessary before taking the sample. You do not need to fast or stop any of your medications when you take the sample. There is no medical condition that would prevent you from taking part. You can collect the sample at any time of the day.

Colorectal cancer can be very asymptomatic at first. Someone with colorectal cancer can also have vague symptoms such as stomach pain, constipation and diarrhea. The colorectal tumor may bleed a little but the blood is not visible to the naked eye at the early stage. 

Colorectal cancer screening uses the FIT test, which can detect hidden blood in the stool. 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.  

Possible colorectal cancer symptoms include a new change in bowel movements (such as stomach pain, constipation or diarrhea), bleeding from the anus, blood in the stool or black stool, anemia and fatigue or unexplained weight loss. 

If these symptoms persist without a clear reason, contact a physician. You should seek medical attention even if you have recently participated or are about to participate in screening. However, it should be kept in mind that these symptoms are not usually due to cancer.

Store the sample tube at room temperature. 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.
 
All HUS laboratories can be viewed on this website Laboratories and Imaging | HUS. 

You can also mail the return envelope to the laboratory. Return postage has been paid.  

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 that require further examinations. 

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.

The easiest way to order a new sampling kit is by visiting www.seula.hus.fi/en:

• Sign at www.seula.hus.fi/en. 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 HUS Diagnostic Center’s laboratory customer service, tel. 09 471 86800 (dial 4 for colorectal cancer screening). 

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. 
The screening nurse in your home municipality can provide you with more information on the examination and how to prepare. 

Data regarding screening is stored in patient records, which are confidential.

HUS Diagnostic Center submits 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, HUS Diagnostic Center compiles a summary about colorectal cancer screening to the municipalities that purchase the service from HUS Diagnostic Center. The summary delivered to the municipalities does not contain anyone's personal test results.