Many older Australians are failing to take up the bowel screening test.

Ray Hadley said there are plenty of Australians, particularly men, who don’t have regular health checks.

He said almost 99 per cent of bowel cancer cases can be treated successfully, if detected early.

Professor Terry Bolin, president of The Gut Foundation, said each day, 11 people die from bowel cancer.

Many don’t have symptoms.

“It’s very important everyone gets tested,” he said.

He spoke to Ray as part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month.

“There’s a national bowel screen program, the issue with that is the uptake rate, only a third will do the test,” he said.

“If you turn out to be positive only two thirds will actually have a colonoscopy even though they are at high risk.

“The mortality rate hasn’t changed much at all.”

Ray said he was “astounded” people who received their results and were listed as high risk, failed to follow-up the test.

“That’s got me stunned, it doesn’t make any sense.”

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