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‘You’ve Got This!’ That’s the slogan behind a new bowel cancer screening test campaign aimed at Māori and Pasifika people which launched earlier this month.
On hand to push the campaign was Associate Health minister Aupito Williams Sio who says, it’s vital Pacific people get behind the campaign because it can literally save lives.
“Begin the conversation about getting your screening for bowel cancer early and as a government we’ve said, we begin at 50,” Aupito says.
“For Māori and Pasifika, too many people are dying; they are preventable deaths and so we want to be able to save lives by helping people understand some uncomfortable issues about how the screening is done.”
Right now, if you’re 60 to 70 years old, you are eligible for a free bowel screening test. But as of July next year, the minimum testing age will drop to 50 years old for Māori and Pacific people.
The age drop is a simple reflection of the numbers – a higher proportion of bowel cancer occurs in Māori and Pacific Peoples before they reach 60 years old at approximately 21%, compared to 10% for others.
And statistically, Pacific people have lower ‘survivability’ often because they are diagnosed much too late.
Gastroenterologist Dr Susan Parry says the screening test can be a life-saver.
“If you were the one person that gets bowel cancer it’s incredibly important for you and your family and I think every health measure that can save a life is worth it,” she says.
Bowel cancer survivor Loloma Afeaki says the campaign to get tested is a positive step forward.
“It affected me emotionally towards the end because I lost my wife to bowel cancer. If only we knew then what bowel cancer can do to you.” he says.
The first step to getting tested is as easy as going to your general practitioner.
“If you’re a Māori and Pacific person and you want to do the test you can do it, there’s a system whereby your general practitioner can just arrange for the test to be sent to you right now, or your community provider that you’re linking in with at some community events they can just arrange for the test to be sent to you.” Says Dr Parry
The campaign is about making bowel screening easy with free kits you can test yourself with at home.
“I, like everybody, was feeling uncomfortable with it,” says minister Sio.
“You’ve got to read the instructions, take your time, close that door but it’s easy and once you’ve done it the first time, I just know it will become easier every year to do it and it is about saving lives.”
