When should I book a colonoscopy for bowel-cancer screening?

If you are 45 or older, or at any age with a first-degree relative affected, a direct-view colonoscopy is the most reliable check-up. The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program mails free FIT stool kits from age 50, but many people prefer the certainty of a camera five years earlier. Performed under light sedation, the day-stay test sees most patients home by mid-afternoon. Findings set the next interval: ten years if clear, five years when polyps appear, and sometimes sooner with strong family history. All procedures use GESA-accredited equipment, and there is no gap for privately insured patients. Medicare rebates soften costs for everyone else.