Bowel cancer is one of the most treatable types of cancer if found early, yet it currently claims the lives of over 5,300 Australians every year. After lung cancer, bowel cancer has the second-highest mortality rate of cancers in NSW, with 36 people dying from the disease every week in our state.
Despite these figures, only 40% of eligible people in NSW currently participate in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. Screening uptake rates must increase if we are to see an improvement in survival rates. The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program offers free screening tests to all eligible 50-74-year-old Australians. Screening is recommended every two years for men and women in this age bracket who account for 93% of bowel cancer cases in NSW.
Practice Nurses can help screening rates by promoting the program in your practice, doing a screening audit of practice records, and discussing the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program with eligible patients. 49-year-old patients should be sent a letter to explain the screening process and encourage them to take part. If you are aware of when patients are due to receive a screening test, you can explain how to utilise the kit in advance. Patients should be provided with support to complete the participant forms if needed. Any patients with symptoms, bowel disease or family history of bowel disease should be referred to a practice GP.
GP’s should manage patients identified as being at increased risk of bowel cancer or those at any age experiencing symptoms as per the NHMRC-approved guidelines. All patients with positive screening results should be referred for further bowel examinations. As a health professional, you play a key role in reporting data to the National Cancer Screening Register. All referrals for positive results should be noted on the register using the GP Assessment Form on the Health Care Provider Portal.
Patients who participate in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program can now opt-in to have their screening results to My Health Record (MHR). Patients can now access a digital copy of the results letter they will have received from Sonic following testing of their returned samples.
COVID-19 has had a ripple effect on all parts of the health system. Now is the time to reengage in national screening programs and ensure that preventable cancers get picked up early.
More information about bowel cancer screening and access to resources can be found on the WentWest website. Health professionals can also access Bowel Cancer Screening Pathways on HealthPathways.
Support Aboriginal members of your community to get screened here: https://www.indigenousbowelscreen.com.au/