B.C. survivors and health professionals urge testing during National Colon Cancer Awareness month
Doctors, patients and advocates are uniting for a reminder to older British Columbians to request a free colon cancer screening test – as we mark National Colon Cancer Awareness month.
The Fecal Immunochemical Test is recommended for people aged 50 to 74. According to BC Cancer, it looks for small amounts of blood in the stool, which can be a sign of cancer or precancerous growths.
"It’s one of the most common cancers diagnosed in British Columbia," says the medical director of the agency’s colon screening program, Dr. Jennifer Telford.
"One in six British Columbians will be diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer in their lifetime," she said.
The take-home tests are available for free from primary care providers. BC Cancer says the risk of colon cancer increases with age, with 80 per cent of cases being diagnosed in people over the age of 50.
If it’s caught in the earliest stage, the survival rate is more than 90 per cent.
"If I could take a look at a balance and weigh the ick factor of doing a simple home-based stool test versus going through years of treatment, possibly not surviving – I think it’s a pretty easy equation," said Barry Stein, Colorectal Cancer Canada’s president and CEO.
SELF-ADVOCATING
A Courtenay woman who was diagnosed with colon cancer in October 2019 is also encouraging people who are eligible to follow up. Although, it didn’t help her.
Manna Wescott was diagnosed when she was 42-years-old before she was eligible for the routine screening – and after she had already been experiencing symptoms.
"Anemia, for example," she says. "I had blood in my stool."
Wescott wants others to learn the signs and symptoms so they can advocate for themselves.
"It’s all about self-advocacy and paying attention to all of the little details," said Wescott.
According to BC Cancer, signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer can also include pain in your lower abdomen or pelvis and a change in bowel habits, such as constipation or different size of stool.
"It took nine months from having some really acute symptoms to finally getting a colonoscopy and then being told on the spot that they knew I had cancer," said Wescott.
Three and a half years since her stage four diagnosis, she says she doesn’t have any evidence of disease. She’s under active monitoring every six months.
"We just hope for the best with every scan," she says.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.