'Every single one ... is a win': Bowel screening programme picks up 89 Northland cancer cases

A health screening programme in Northland has picked up 89 cases of bowel cancer so far, allowing earlier treatment and in many cases, saving lives.

The national bowel cancer screening programme started with a trial in Waitematā and was gradually rolled out across the country, reaching Northland in 2021.

In the three years since, just over 68,000 free test kits have been sent to Northlanders aged between 60 and 74, according to Health NZ.

Just under 36,000 of those, or more than half, had been returned and checked for possible signs of cancer.

The roughly 1500 positive results had led to 1150 colonoscopy examinations, which had identified 89 cancers.

More than half of those were early-stage cancers which had a much better chance of being treated successfully.

Health NZ Te Tai Tokerau surgical services manager Katy Wilkinson said that was "a phenomenal result" for the programme's first three years.

"Every single one of those is a win … If detected early enough, there's plenty of opportunity to treat it in a way that reduces the risk of spreading to other parts of the body."

The test could save people from discovering they had cancer once it was untreatable, when the only option left was palliative care.

Wilkinson said the programme did more than save lives, however.

"It also empowers individuals to take control of their own health in the privacy of their own home. It's not an invasive test, it's not one they have to visit the hospital for.

"They can do it at home and get it detected earlier, supporting a healthier future for everyone in Te Tai Tokerau (Northland)," she said.

Health promotion lead Kylah Pere said her work often brought her into contact with families which had lost someone to bowel cancer.

"Hearing their stories is heart-wrenching, especially knowing that early detection could have changed everything. I remind people that this test isn't just for them - it's for their whānau, their tamariki, their mokopuna."

Pere said Health NZ also operated an outreach programme for people unsure about using the kits.

"We do follow-ups if people are having trouble with the health literacy side of things, because there are a couple of booklets to read.

"There's also the stigma around taking a sample of your poo and sending it off in the mail.

"We try our hardest to support them, even show them how to use the kits, and that prompts a lot of people to do it. It's just getting over the barriers really."

Pere said those barriers would diminish as people got used to the screening programme.

Pere and Wilkinson were at last weekend's Bay of Islands Show, using a giant inflatable colon to catch attention and promote the screening programme.

Juliana Williams, of Kerikeri, was among those who stopped to talk.

She had friends whose lives had been turned upside-down by bowel cancer and was a whole-hearted supporter of the programme.

"I came of age for the programme a couple of years ago, a kit arrived in the mail, and the instructions were clear. It was such a simple thing to do - I did it in a few minutes, put it in the post, and got the result in my email," she said.

"I thought, why wouldn't you do it? It's so easy. Why go down the track of discovering you've got something wrong once you've got bleeding or your bowels change, and you end up having lots of serious operations or end up with a bag on your stomach. That's a huge thing to adjust to."

According to Health NZ, bowel cancer is the second most common type of cancer in Northland, after lung cancer.

Among Māori, it is the third most common cancer in Northland, but it tends to be diagnosed at a younger age and at more advanced stages.

Nationwide, more than 1.2 million test kits have so far been returned, resulting in more than 36,000 colonoscopies and the detection of more than 2600 cancers.

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