Ontario Launching Campaign For Homescreening Against Colorectal Cancer
A new campaign pushing for home screening for colorectal cancer could allow it to be caught early when it is asymptomatic but very curable.
Ontario has one of the world’s highest rates of colorectal cancer, which is the second deadliest cancer in the province. The sad thing is, if caught early, it has a 90 percent cure rate.
The Ontario provincial government has started promoting home fecal occult tests, a test that can detect blood in the stool before it is visible to the eye. The UK and Finland have had great success with similar home screening programs.
The test involves taking a small stool sample on three different days and testing for blood. Even if blood is detected, it does not necessarily mean you have cancer. But the presence of blood is a sign that more tests need to be done, such as colonoscopy, to determine what is causing it.