Apr
23
2018
That’s the message behind a new campaign encouraging Australians aged 50-74 to use their government-funded, home-delivered bowel cancer screening kit as soon as they receive it in the mail.
Currently, only 39 per cent of Australians who receive the free, potentially life-saving test use it.
Christopher Horn, Bowel Cancer Screening Manager at Cancer Institute NSW, said doing the test was important because, when it comes to bowel cancer treatment, early detection is critical.
“Bowel cancer is Australia’s second biggest cancer killer. It can be treated in up to 90 per cent of cases, but we need to catch it early,” Mr Horn said.
Both men and women are at risk of developing bowel cancer, but the risk increases if you:
Under the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (established in 2006), the Federal Government provides free, at-home bowel cancer screening kits to Australians aged between 50 and 74 years old.
“These kits arrive in the mail around the time of a person’s birthday, every two years,” Mr Horn said.
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