High rate of bowel cancer in the South

Gastroenterologist JUNE is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month. For many years now, New Zealand has had one of the highest bowelcancer rates in the world. Within the South Island of New Zealand, the Otago/ Southland region has an even higher rate. This will hopefully change soon as the Government is rolling out a nationwide Bowel Cancer Screening Programme over the next few years. The pilot study that ran successfully for several years at Waitemata DHB confirmed that imaging the bowels of asymptomatic people can detect bowel cancer early and saves lives.

Bowel cancer that is detected early has a 75% chance of being cured either by surgery or chemotherapy or a combination of the two. More importantly, however, colonoscopy can detect and remove polyps. Polyps are often the precursors to cancer and can for a long time remain asymptomatic.

The national screening programme will first be introduced in the North Island at Lower Hutt DHB and Wairarapa DHB before coming to the South Island in early 2018. Through the programme, patients 6074 years of age will be invited to perform a stool test looking for blood. Where a positive result is returned, those people will be invited for a colonoscopy through the public health system.

This is a great advance in New Zealand healthcare. However, be proactive and don’t wait for the screening programme to find you. It is important to catch the cancer or any precursors early for treatment to be effective. If you have symptoms, want reassurance or just want information, talk to the experts at Marinoto Clinic at Mercy Hospital.