Please could you explain for other people who might be wondering what they have to do when they do the test, could you explain exactly what you have to do?

You mean the test for’?

When the test kit came in the post to do at home.

Oh you just go to the toilet, you know, and the instruction was on the, you know in the kit you see and after, it was just easy you know the instructions it was just easy like A, B, C.

Is it?

Yeah it’s just easy, you know.

Did you have to put a little bit of your bowel motion onto the card?

Yes onto, you know and seal it, easy.

It was quite easy?

Yeah, yeah.

And was it quite clear how much of the bowel motion you had to put on the card?

Yes it did, it explained, you know it explained on the, you know on the kit you know.

On the information?

Yes information.

And then what did you have to do with it after that?

You seal it you know and the, the thing that was, you put it into a disposal?

Into an envelope?

Yeah, you know, and then you wash your hands, that’s right.

It depends on the individual but the thing is if your motions hit the water they can deteriorate, so the way that you have to do it is to make sure that you prevent your motions from going into the pan. You can do that however you like. In my instance I simply held the paper underneath my bottom and caught it on the paper. And then it, if I remember correctly, it asks you to take samples from different parts of the motions which is exactly as I said. You just take a small sample on a little wooden spatula which is provided and smear it onto a little round disc which you then fold the flap over and cover over. On the next time you pass motions again you do the same again and you repeat that three times. Then the whole thing is folded into the envelope and posted off. It’s a simple, easy enough to do but, you know, some people might find that a bit disconcerting but I didn’t find any problems at all.

It took me about three weeks actually, I think it was, to actually get round to doing it. The screening kit arrived on 5th September and they sent me on 30th a reminder, and it took me until 4th October to get round to doing it so it was just on a month. Here of course one comes back to this reluctance and also the problems, the physical problems of how to collect the sample, which mustn’t fall into the toilet. How does one actually do this? Now we had household jokes about Marigold gloves and ones wife catching the required sample, which is of course not pleasant and totally unrequired, but I solved the problem in the end by making up two almost like thick bandages of toilet tissue, and suspending them in a cross shape over the rear half of the toilet pan, having taped them with masking tape to the pan so they wouldn’t drop in, so that when one went to the toilet the stool was caught at the back and one could pass water at the front without affecting the stool at the back. I was told afterwards that some people use Cling-film to catch the sample but it’s not pleasant, to have to delve into ones dung to take a sample. The other thing that I did find; could have been better informed in the information pack, is how much of a sample does one have to actually put on the screen? There are two little sockets in each of the three windows, but how thick a smear does one have to give? I found that a slight problem because it’s quite unpleasant to have to handle.

I think on the information leaflet they give you various ways that you might collect the sample.

Yes.

How did you, what did you find was the easiest?

Well, they talked about using a receptacle which you could throw away thereafter, or using a, a plastic glove and catching the sample, which I found almost amusing really, I just couldn’t get to terms with that. So personally I found that just by putting the newspaper on the floor in the bathroom, putting strips of toilet paper on the floor, depositing the sample on the toilet paper, means that when I’d taken the sample and spread it onto the, onto the card, I could then pick up the toilet paper with the with the stools if you like, put in the toilet and flush it.

The only thing I would say, I mean this is, I don’t know if this is worth mentioning, the actual things that you use to take the sample, which are like cardboard lollypop sticks is the best way to describe them, it would be nice if it was possible for those to be flushable. They do ask and you find that one, you’ve got to wipe the stick, so then you can fold them up, wrap them up, and put them in a bin etc etc. But it would be nice if it was possible at some stage to be able to put everything that you’ve used, everything, in the toilet and flush it away. That’s my only comment.

(Note The sticks used to be made of wood. They are now made of cardboard and can be flushed down the toilet)

It’s very easy, but it is a little bit, I suppose you think, God this is unpleasant, because I mean, let’s face it when you go to the toilet, it goes down the toilet and that’s where you leave it.

And you Don’t deal with it at all do you? So I sort of read it and I thought, Oh flipping heck, I Don’t know whether I fancy doing, I Don’t think I fancy doing this. So I went and got a piece of kitchen roll, so I thought, At least I can put it on there, you know, and I did it that way. And I thought, Oh, well it’s not really very pleasant this.

Because its not, in a way.

So you found kitchen roll was easiest?

I found, yes because its, its bigger, and I thought, Well that can go there, and then you can place it on that, and then put it onto your because you needed to put it down somewhere, because, you know the weight of the faeces, if you just used toilet paper, it wouldve split, and gone on your floor, on your working surface or on, in the bathroom obviously. So I thought; I felt that the kitchen roll was the best.

Yes, they do suggest different ways Don’t they?

Mm.

And other people have used kitchen roll as well.

Mm. For me, I found that was the best. And when my husband was doing his, I said to him, Make sure you get the kitchen roll.

I think on the information sheet they suggest different ways that you might manage to get a sample, either from the lavatory paper or from possibly a container inside the lavatory.

That’s right yes.

Can you remember what you did?

Yes I did a container definitely yes, yes. I don't know whether I wore thin, thin gloves or not, possibly I did, but as long as one keeps the, the things and not touching other things that would mask any testing I think that’s what I did.

Can you remember what sort of container you found useful?

Probably a small marg, well a margarine container possibly yes, a plastic container yes and then disposed of it afterwards, yes.

So the whole thing you found fairly straight forward?

Yes, yes.

What did you make of the information, the little leaflet that came with the test kit telling you how to do it?

Oh it was all very clear.

Was it?

It was all very clear, but by, I found it uncomfortable having to lean over the toilet in my own excretia and fiddling around with it.

But again not painful but, and not embarrassing since it was a solo activity.

By uncomfortable do you mean physically uncomfortable or psychologically uncomfortable?

Well physically, I mean my mind goes back to changing the nappy of the children and the nausea of leaning over and smelling the excretia yes.

How did, I think they suggest various ways that you might do that.

They did yes, I mean I personally I got a supermarket bag and put that inside the toilet.

And then performed on top of it, so that was a barrier between me and the toilet water and then having taken the sample I could simply shake the bag into the toilet and with another bag put that bag into and dispose of it.

So I was a little bit apprehensive about the whole thing, didn’t quite like the idea of it, but then I thought about the friends that I’d had that had had bowel cancer and it hadn’t been diagnosed till much too late and I thought, ‘No, this is a good idea, I should do it. So with much trepidation, I may add, I tried for the first test and must admit that the first day that I tried it was a complete disaster because I didn’t know the amount of faeces that they wanted and being as it was just such a small amount on the test paper. But the second day I had another go and it was quite successful. I had the rubber gloves to hand and just thought, ‘This is, this is a good cause, I should be doing this,’ even though I was sort of a bit turning my nose up a little bit. But eventually I managed to get the three and sent them away and was absolutely delighted when I did get the results through the post.

When you set out to do the testing did you make a plan beforehand or did you just sort of go into it without thinking too much about it?

Well I made what I thought was a plan, although it misfired on the first day because I didn’t have my little table at the side, well actually it was a stool, I didn’t have that at the side of me, and I didn’t have everything to hand. And as I turned round to take the stuff off the cistern it just fell back in the pan and I had to start from scratch again. But after that I had it well planned, thought about it before I did it.

Can you please tell me, given that you’ve got problems with rheumatoid arthritis, how this made it a little bit difficult for you, but you managed it?

The joints in my fingers and thumbs are very painful and to hold the spatula and to retrieve the sample and to use the toilet paper was painful but it can be done and I managed. The thumb and the finger to hold the spatula was the most painful I think, but I coped and you just, it’s just momentarily, it goes off again, I have these pains any time, anywhere so;

What did you have to do exactly with the spatula? Can you explain for people who are not sure what they have to do?

Well you have to retrieve a sample from the toilet paper that you have cleaned yourself with and put it into the, the sample pack that was sent. I did that three days in succession and in the morning, it can be done any time but I found it, that was when I moved my bowels and I did it then and while I thought about it.

So each day, each morning you took a sample, using the spatula, and put it in the test kit?

That’s right.

Another thing please, the test kit says that you’ve got 14 days to complete the three samples.

Yes.

What did you think about that?

Well I was a bit worried at first because I thought I couldn’t get three samples in fourteen days and I thought, ‘Well about if you’re a bit slow going to the toilet’, you know, ‘fourteen days. So I was a bit worried but I needn’t have worried in the end. I mean you do do three samples in fourteen days, they must have thought it out very well when they put fourteen days I think so yeah. But it is a bit worrying, you see fourteen and you think, ‘Oh am I going to go to the toilet three times in fourteen days,’ so.

Did that make you wonder whether or not to try?

Well I didn’t bother about that; I thought well if it takes longer than fourteen days I shall have to get in touch with them and do something about it.

Because I thought, ‘Well I’ve got a phone number I can always phone and explain to them. That’s why I think as long as, theres always a get out, if they give you a phone number you can always phone and you know get in contact.

Good idea.

Talk to someone who knows something about it [laughs].