Take-home bowel cancer screening test will save lives

08 April 2011

The Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand (the Guild) welcomes the bowel screening programme launched by Pharmacybrands in Wellington today.

“This is a private sector initiative that steps into a gap. The patient benefits from this because there is insufficient testing happening in the population,” says Guild Chief Executive, Annabel Young.

The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) has expressed serious misgivings about the initiative, saying that GPs are better placed to provide this service. “The test purchased at the pharmacy to be done at home is an additional tool in the fight against cancer. Patients doing at-home testing is a great first step for people who are worried and want to do something about it,” says Annabel. “The results of the test go to the GP so there is no issue with them being out of the loop.”

“Any initiative that helps patients feel more at ease about their health – and makes screening easier for an already overburdened health sector – is great for patients. Getting the test from your local Pharmacybrands community pharmacy is better than never doing the test at all. And with bowel cancer, early detection is crucial.”

“We acknowledge the NZMA concerns about false positive and false negative results. That is a risk with any test and this test promises a high accuracy rate. Piece of mind for the patient is what matters the most.”

BowelScreen Aotearoa™ is a pharmacy based cancer awareness, education and screening programme that uses InSure®, a simple, clinically proven faecal occult blood test. Pharmacybrands, Beat Bowel Cancer Aotearoa™ and the manufacturer of the Insure® test, Enterix, have collaborated on the programme.

ENDS

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