Dr. Jerome Coffey:

This year, there was a media campaign by the screening service which had a measurable impact. When we remind people that the service is there and that it is free and beneficial, uptake increases. There is a very visible campaign for BreastCheck and the cervical check. That works. While the screening service is separate from cancer control, we work very closely together. Colorectal cancer screening worldwide struggles to get the same level of uptake as screening for other cancers. The colorectal screening programme in this country is relatively young but it is getting there. It will take effort to get to its target and that effort will have to be sustained. Once one cuts back on the marketing, if I can use that term, the uptake rates go down.