Bowel cancer kills 4 times as many as road toll
For the first time, a new Victoria-wide bowel screening campaign could see more than 20,000 additional Victorians screening for bowel cancer, which can detect the disease at an early stage, even when there are no symptoms and avoid the need for extended chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
The campaign – the biggest bowel cancer public education campaign Cancer Council has ever rolled out in Victoria – launches as new data shows the importance of early detection on survival rates.
“To understand the enormous impact of bowel cancer on the Victorian community, consider this – bowel cancer kills four times more Victorians than road accidents[i],” Mr Harper said.
“This is a real tragedy because many of these cancer deaths are preventable, in fact if you detect bowel cancer at stage 1 or 2, you have a 98% to 90% chance of survival respectively, but too many people are ignoring the free and simple test mailed to our homes. I’ve done it myself. Compared to the impact of a diagnosis on our immediate families and the long-term mental and physical toll of advanced cancer treatment, doing the test is easy.”
But currently only 40 per cent of eligible Victorians aged between 50 and 74 complete the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program home test. This is the fourth lowest screening rate across the states and territories.
Disclaimer: This article was provided by Cancer Council Victoria. While every effort has been made to ensure the information is accurate, North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network does not warrant or represent the accuracy, currency and completeness of any information or material included within.
