SCREENING TIME

According to Bowel Cancer New Zealand, a whopping 75% of bowel cancer is curable if it is detected early enough.

However, in this country we have a high rate of bowel, or colorectal, cancer by international standards. Every year 1200 Kiwis die from it and it is the second deadliest cancer in New Zealand, after lung cancer.

The Ministry of Health has recently started a screening programme that is being rolled out through district health boards around the country. It offers eligible people aged 60 to 74 the chance to do a free test, carried out at home, that involves collecting a small sample of your bowel motion, putting it in a tube and sending it off to a laboratory in a pre-paid envelope.

A special test is then carried out on the sample that can detect tiny traces of blood. If there is any blood present, it may be an early warning sign that something is wrong with your bowel.

You will then be referred for further investigation, most likely a colonoscopy.