Confidentiality and Support
Confidentiality
A test of this nature would normally be a confidential matter between doctor and patient. Taking the test into the public arena makes confidentiality no less desirable but more difficult to achieve.
It is important that the public is aware that every effort is being made to maintain confidentiality.
Support of Bowelscan
Recently published overseas controlled trials, using the Bowelscan model, demonstrated up to 33% reduction in mortality from colon cancer in those individuals undergoing an annual screening program.
Some doctors hold the view that testing for occult (hidden blood) is not sufficiently adequate and permits too many false positives and false negatives. In effect, they say some people are alarmed unnecessarily by returning a positive result and, similarly, some are falsely reassured by a negative result.
Their views are respected and all Bowelscan programs emphasise to participants that this is a screening program only and positive results indicate the need for further investigation.
Newspapers, radio stations and regional television stations have been supportive everywhere the program has been conducted.
If your Club or District wishes to proceed further towards conducting a Bowelscan program, please contact the Secretary of the National Rotary Bowelscan Committee:
There has been a minor increase in the incidence of the disease, with no improvement in survival in the past 40 years.
There are four important characteristics of bowel cancer from a screening point of view:
- The cancer begins nearly always as a non-malignant projection from the bowel wall, known as a polyp or adenomatous polyp.
- The process of change from a polyp to cancer is slow - up to ten years.
- Polyps and cancers bleed from time to time.
- The earlier the treatment of a cancer or polyp is undertaken, the better the outcome.
The detection of unseen bleeding from the intestinal tract may provide early evidence of a polyp or cancer. This bleeding can be detected with chemical tests of bowel motions. The most that can be achieved is to identify , by a positive result, a group within the tested community who have a higher risk of significant bowel disease and who require further investigation.
It is important therefore to keep Bowelscan in perspective. It is not a specific test to detect bowel tumours. The most that can be achieved is that Bowelscan can identify a bowel condition of which the participant is unaware and alert him or her to consult a doctor to determine its nature.
Further, it is strongly recommended that the test be undertaken annually.
The Bowelscan program is not perfect, nor are any of the screening programs such as for cancer of the breast or cancer of cervix. Despite these imperfections, cancers are found earlier in each program and the survival rates are improved.