I WOULD like to sincerely thank former footballer Bobby Moncur for his support for the national NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in which smear sample kits are sent out to people aged 60 to 69 in an effort to detect the disease in its early stages (Echo, Feb 26).

It saddens me, though, that many of the kits are not returned for testing and if any of those people did have “a problem” it would go unnoticed until too late.

In short, after a personal health problem – bearing similarities to that of a very great friend I worked with who died from bowel cancer at the age of 50 – I eventually found out that I, too, had it.

Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the operation that saved my life. I am still here and live a full and fairly happy life, but it would have been so much easier if I had sent in a stool smear sample as under the new tests. Sadly, they were not available then.

If you are sent one of these test kits, please return it. There are very few second chances with cancer. Sincere thanks to all at the University Hospital of North Durham and Mr Bain in particular.

Malcolm Rolling, Carrville, Durham.