Bowel Cancer Screening: It could save your life

Figures show that Australians keep avoiding doing the test that could detect bowel cancer. Men and people from certain ethnic groups are most likely to avoid the test.

The bowel cancer home screening test kit Source: AAP

For many Australians between ages 50 and 74, the free test that could detect bowel cancer is something that makes sense.

Yet most Australians avoid doing the test.  

 The CEO of Cancer Council Australia, Professor Sanchia Aranda, says that often people don't see themselves as at-risk of bowel cancer. The most important risk factor is ageing and people don't really like being reminded of being aged when they get to 50 so that's probably a big factor.

Professor Aranda adds that some people are repulsed by the nature of the test.  

More than 4-million have received the test kit at their homes but only 41% actually did the screening.

You can read more in English here.

Only four in ten Australians are participating in the free bowel cancer tests. Source: SBS News