People urged to take bowel screening test
Potentially life saving procedure already having an impact
The team at Gonville Health is keen to see people respond to their calls for bowel screening, a measure that is saving lives and which could save a lot more.
“Gonville is a clinic serving a high needs health population,” says Dr John McMenamin. “That includes a lot of people coming from areas of deprivation and a high Ma¯ori prevalence in the practice. We know that cancers are more common in high needs populations.
“For the population that we serve in this clinic, screening is important.”
John says bowel cancer in New Zealand is common.
“The programme identifies bowel cancer and pre-cancers early and is already having a significant impact on cancer diagnoses.”
The national programme has diagnosed more than 1000 cancer cases already.
“It’s identifying a lot of cancers early, much earlier than would otherwise be the case,” he says. “And also a lot of pre-cancer changes in the bowels, which means those people will have preventive treatment and will never get cancer.
“For this particular clinic, the fact we have a population with high health needs means that cancers are more likely, and we know, in general, that all cancers, and bowel cancer in particular, tend to present later in areas where there is high need.
“So this clinic is committed to being engaged in the programme. Of course, it is a regional and national programme, so all practices in the region, and others that serve high needs populations as well, like us, will be particularly aware of its importance.”
He says all practices support the screening programme and locally it is very much a regional approach.
“We have a lot of health promotion around it . . . and we have clinicians in the practices who are engaged in encouraging people to participate.”
The screening programme underwent a successful trial in Waitemata before the rest of the country took it on. Whanganui has now had it going for one full cycle of two years and is now on its second cycle.
“Every person — male and female — between the ages of 60 and 74 will get a (testing) kit sent to them every two years. There are important things people need to know about it: one is, please do the kit. It is simple, clean and easy to do, the sample size is very small, there are no examinations involved, and once people have done it they realise it’s actually very straightforward.”
John says most bowel cancers occur within the targeted age group.
“Obviously we need people outside that age group to be aware you can get cancer younger than 60, of course, so we’re keen to get the message out there that if people have symptoms that are suggestive of cancer — so that’s bleeding from the bowel or persistent loose bowel motions — they need to present and get them evaluated, whatever their age.”
A positive result from the kit does not necessarily mean the patient has cancer.
“Most likely you have what’s called pre-cancer changes, those are polyps. People with positive tests get referred to the hospital for a colonoscopy, a free examination, which mostly identifies these pre-cancer polyps, and removing those prevents cancer from developing.
“If you are lucky enough to have a positive result, essentially, you are going to have your life saved, because you most likely have pre-cancer polyps. If you get them removed they are not going to go on and cause cancer. If you do have a cancer, most likely it’s going to be a very early cancer.”
The bowel screening test kit is a better option than waiting until you have symptoms, because by then the cancer is probably more advanced.
“This programme is going to have a big impact on bowel cancer in New Zealand.”
For that to happen, of course, requires as many people as possible to do the test.
Recently formed is the Whanganui Research Collaborative which includes GPs, Ma¯ori and other health researchers who are looking at how to ensure people access help for cancer symptoms early.