Bowel cancer testing kits now available

Bowel cancer screening kits will be available over the counter from today, a New Zealand first.

Fed up with the length of time it is taking to introduce bowel cancer screening in New Zealand, Beat Bowel Cancer Aotearoa has collaborated on the initiative with its sister charity in Australia and Pharmacy Brands.

Chairwoman Dr Sarah Derrett said the kits, which will sell for $52.15 plus GST, would give people aged 50-74 the chance to be proactive about monitoring their own health.

The kits will not be available in Dunedin until early next week.

The organisation was concerned national screening could still be a decade away when New Zealand had the highest incidence of the disease in the world and its mortality rates from the disease were among the world's worst.

More than 1250 New Zealanders die from bowel cancer a year. This is more than the total deaths from breast and prostate cancer.

The Ministry of Health's "we know best" attitude, and the failure of successive governments to take action, left New Zealand 10 years behind other countries which had screening programmes, Dr Derrett said.

"As a group of people directly affected by bowel cancer we don't feel we have been well-served by this attitude." While people could already seek a faecal occult blood test through their doctor, there had been no opportunity, until now, to buy a kit over the counter.

Those who completed a kit would be required to provide their general practitioner's contact details and the doctor would be advised of the result.

Dr Derrett said it was difficult to know how many people would buy the kits, so it was hard to estimate the possible effect on disease detection.

A positive result would not necessarily mean someone had cancer, but would indicate further investigation was needed.

Early detection was the key to improving survival rates, because 75% of bowel cancers could be cured if caught early.

She accepted there was difficulty already in meeting demand for diagnostic services in some areas and those who needed further investigation would need to discuss the options available with their doctor.

Dr Derrett said a national programme could potentially save about 270 lives a year.

The screening kits were not designed to compete with or replace such a programme. However, the kits gave people in the 50 to 74 age group, where the risk was increased, a simple way to seek screening in the meantime.

Dr Derrett emphasised that anyone with bowel cancer symptoms should seek medical advice promptly.

These symptoms were persistent rectal bleeding, recent persistent change in bowel habits, a lump or mass which could be felt in the abdomen, and persistent or recurring abdominal pain.