Low uptake for free BowelScreen service
Despite BowelScreen’s success at discovering cancer at an early stage, just 40% of eligible men and women are participating in the programme.
First round results from BowelScreen also reveal a gender imbalance with more eligible women (44%) than eligible men (36%) taking part.
The clinical director of BowelScreen, Prof Diarmuid O’Donoghue, said low uptake of screening is worrying given that bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in Ireland.
“We are particularly concerned about men, given that the cancer detection rate among males is twice as high as it is for females.”
BowelScreen’s report on its first round results for 2012-2015 shows just 196,238 of 488,628 people invited to participate were tested.
There were 521 cancers detected — a rate of 2.65 per 1,000 people screened.
The head of screening at BowelScreen, Charles O’Hanlon, said three out of four cancers detected were at an early stage, so there was a high survival rate.
Almost 13,000 adenomas were removed during the first screening round. Adenomas are abnormal tissue growth that can become cancerous at a later stage.
“The removal of adenomas greatly reduced the possibility of subsequent cancer development, making BowelScreen a truly lifesaving programme,” said Mr O’Hanlon.
Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, the minister of state for health promotion, who launched the report, said efforts must be redoubled to increase uptake for the free service, especially among men, and welcomed efforts by BowelScreen to work with organisations to address this.
The Irish Cancer Society is hopeful that the positive results will encourage more people in the eligible 60 to 69 age group to get tested.
As well as working with BowelScreen to improve the uptake, it will be campaigning for the programme to be extended to those aged between 55 and 74.
The society’s head of services and advocacy, Donal Buggy, said the results showed that screening catches cancer early.
“It is disappointing that more people haven’t availed of the free screening programme, but that’s something we can work on.
“I’m sure the positive results from the first round of BowelScreen will encourage much more people to get involved,” said Mr Buggy.
Every year in Ireland 1,000 people die from bowel cancer, making it the second most deadly cancer.
About 50% of bowel cancers are diagnosed at a late stage, reducing survival rates.
