New Victorian bowel cancer pilot program

All Victorians over 50 are being encouraged to have a bowel cancer screening test at least once every two years with the Cancer Council of Victoria also wanting people to volunteer for a national pilot screening program.

The Director of Cancer Council Victoria, Professor David Hill, said that “more than 1,000 Victorians lose their lives to bowel cancer each year – that’s more than three times the Victorian road toll. However, bowel cancer is 90% curable if caught early, so we hope that by helping to find the disease in its earliest stages, the new screening program will save many Victorian lives.”

Initially, men and women turning 55 or 65 between May 2006 and June 2008, and those involved in the Bowel Cancer Screening Pilot Program will be eligible for the national screening program, and will be sent a Faecal Blood Test (FOBT) kit in the mail. The simple at-home test will look for tiny amounts of blood in the participants’ bowel motions, which could be an indication of bowel cancer. People who return a positive FOBT test result will be referred to their general practitioner (GP) to arrange further testing.

Professor Hill says bowel cancer screening is important for all healthy Victorians aged over 50, not just those eligible to participate in the national program.

“An individual’s risk of bowel cancer significantly increases after 50 and the disease often shows no symptoms. So as well as minimising your bowel cancer risk through regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle, we recommend that all healthy Victorians over 50 without a strong family history of bowel cancer should participate in screening every two years.”

The Cancer Council of Victoria Helpline is1800.118.868.