ORANGE Health Service is hoping to improve bowel cancer screening rates through a 12-month grant from the NSW Cancer Institute for the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.
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The program aims to improve early diagnoses through screening and decrease the time from a positive screening test to a colonoscopy.
Consultant Gastroenterologist Dr Geoff Chu said the hospital also aims to implement and improve colonoscopy standards of practice and improve access to a streamlined referral pathway for colonoscopy.
“On average, 10 to 15 patients per week in the Orange area receive a positive screening test for bowel cancer, so this is a really important project for Orange Health Service,” Dr Chu said.
He said bowel cancer is the second most common cause of death in Australia, and is responsible for more than 17,000 deaths per year.
“The risk of Australians developing bowel cancer is one in 12, and this becomes more significant from age 50 onward,” Dr Chu said.
