SCREENING KEY TO BOOSTING COLORECTAL CANCER SURVIVAL
In Canada, 1 in 13 men and 1 in 16 women will develop colorectal cancer, making it the second leading cause of cancer deaths. When detected at an early stage, the five-year survival rate is over 90 percent but drops to 15 percent when detected late. Unfortunately, nearly half of colorectal cancers have already spread at the time of diagnosis — however, with appropriate screening, 90 percent of colorectal cancer is completely preventable.
“The first step in preventing colorectal cancer is regular screening, but only 40 percent of people that should be getting screened are getting screened,” says Dr. Sundeep Rai, Medical Director at Canadian Place Endoscopy clinic in Mississauga. “Timely preventative screening is critical in lowering colorectal cancer rates, especially for those that are high risk, such as those with a strong family history.” Minimal wait times for maximum health Canadian Place Endoscopy has been doing just that since opening its doors in 2011. The clinic has screened over 45,000 patients for colorectal cancer and has diagnosed hundreds of cancers. “Our goal is to provide safe, comfortable, and timely screening with short wait times,” says Baljit Sidhu, Clinic Director at Canadian Place Endoscopy. She has also recognized the importance of providing nutritional counselling for patients as an ongoing, exceptional service.
“Our team of highly-skilled physicians and nurses provide our patients with outstanding medical care in a professional, warm environment,” says Dr. Rai. In addition to working at the clinic, all physicians are practising gastroenterologists and surgeons in the surrounding hospitals. “We make sure we close the loop with each and every patient and discuss the results of the colorectal screening in person. We also facilitate any further testing or consultations if needed.”
Dr. Rai encourages everyone to speak to their family physician to find out if they are eligible for colorectal screening. All costs associated with the screening are completely covered by provincial government health care plans.