Bowelscan
Rotary Bowelscan- A Community Awareness Project
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A brief introductory description for those who might be interested in conducting this program.
The Bowelscan program is an initiative of the
National Bowelscan Committee Incorporated and the Rotary District Committees and is run by those organisations.
Scan Kits are available from purchase for the District Committees.
All enquiries on the Bowelscan program should be directd to the National Bowelscan Committee Incorporated or one of the District Committees.
Australian Rotary Health supports the Bowelscan program and provides recommendations to the National Bowelscan Committee Incorpoated in relations to the program, however Australian Rotary Health is not responsible for the day-to-day operations of the program or for the sale of the scan kits.
Introduction - What is Bowelscan?
Bowelscan is a Rotary program developed in 1982 in New South Wales and now conducted by over 250 Rotary Clubs across Australia.
These Clubs issue approximately 150,000 kits during their annual Colorectal Screening programs. Since Bowelscan commenced, it is estimated that more than 1,000 people with bowel cancer and 5,000 with polyps have been detected.
In 1990, a National Committee comprising representatives from Rotary Districts operating Bowelscan programs was established to develop and maintain protocols.
Bowelscan is essentially a public awareness program seeking to increase community knowledge of bowel cancer and its symptoms. The project involves the distribution to the public of a simple test kit on which is collected small specimens of faeces for analysis.
The program is usually organised on a District basis with the District Governor appointing a committee to be responsible for its implementation.
The information in this booklet is, however, pitched at Club level and seeks to provide a broad outline of the responsibilities involved in undertaking a Bowelscan program.
Why Introduce a Program of this Nature?
Cancer of the bowel is the commonest internal cancer to affect men and women in western society. Over 9,000 Australians will be diagnosed as having bowel cancer this year and over 4,500 will die of the disease.