Vic bowel cancer screening low in over 50s

More Victorians over 50 need to post their poo for bowel cancer testing, the government says.

One thousand three hundred and twenty Victorians died from the disease in 2014 and it is Australia's second most dangerous cancer.

But despite the tests being free, fewer than one third of over 50s are using the free bowel cancer testing kit, with uptake in the city of Melbourne the lowest.

Victoria's participation in the screening program is better than the Australian average but is still low at only 37 per cent.

"Screening is key to fighting bowel cancer. Around 90 per cent of bowel cancers can be successfully treated if detected early," Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy said in a statement on Friday.