In Australia about 90 men and women die each week from bowel cancer. Australia has one of the highest incidences of bowel cancer in the world.
Bowel cancer has the second highest mortality rate of all cancers in NSW after lung cancer yet only 34.3 per cent of South Western Sydney residents participate in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.
Early detection and treatment of bowel cancer significantly improves survival rates which is why bowel cancer screening is recommended every two years for men and women aged 50 years and over.
National Bowel Cancer Screening Program
The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is an Australian Government initiative which aims to help detect bowel cancer early and reduce the number of deaths from the disease. All eligible Australians between the ages of 50 and 74 are invited to do the screening test every two years.
If you are aged between 50 and 74, you will get a home test kit in the mail with instructions on how to do the test.
The results are sent to you and your doctor within two weeks. The results will also be sent to My Health Record (unless you ticked the box on your participant details form to tell us you don’t want this to happen or you have opted out of My Health Record) and the National Cancer Screening Register.
Find more information about the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program on the Department of Health website.
Useful resources
National Bowel Cancer Screening Program