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Written by John Feary
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08 April 08 |
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After last year’s launch saved lives, Rotary Bowelscan is back this March. In March 2007, more than 5000 Western Australians bought $6 test kits as part of the inaugural WA Rotary Bowelscan Month.
Some 30 positive tests led to the discovery of several bowel cancers and precancerous growths that were referred for treatment. This remarkable success on its first outing in WA proves once again that this Rotary program – conducted for over two decades on the east coast – genuinely saves lives.
This year’s Bowelscan is expected to go still further, with strong regional interest driving an expansion of last year’s metro-only campaign into several country centres around the state.
Despite many other diseases receiving greater publicity, bowel cancer is actually Australia’s No 1 internal cancer affecting men and women, killing more than 4600 people every year.
Rotary Bowelscan has two key objectives:
+ Developing community awareness and understanding of bowel cancer, and
+ Encouraging early detection of potential or actual bowel cancer.
Booragoon will support Bowelscan again this year. It’s likely we will again work with Pharmacy Help at the Garden City Medical Centre and the Winthrop Pharmacy.
Once again, kits will also be available to Club members at a cost of $6. We expect to receive the kits over the next week, although the official Bowelscan period starts on 1 March.
All people over 40 who are not showing any symptoms of bowel cancer are advised to take the test. Bowel cancer is very curable if you catch it early. |
