We at Gippsland Specialist Group have told more than twenty young Australian’s this year under the age of 50 that ‘you have bowel cancer’. The tears well, and we often see the look of despair in their eyes.
It is a common thought that bowel cancer is a disease confined to the elderly, however in reality, more than 10% of bowel cancers in Australia are diagnosed in people under the age of 50.
Fortunately, when young people listen to their bodies, greater than 99% of bowel cancers are treatable with ‘curative surgery’, without the need for chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Increasingly, assessing your own individual bowel cancer risk in people under the age of 50 is essential for everyone. Unfortunately, the Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Program doesn’t commence until the age of 50.
The USA have recently adjusted their guidelines, with a recommendation to now commence colonoscopy for screening at the age of 45, whether you have symptoms or not!
We at Gippsland Specialist Group see no specific reason why this recommendation should not also apply to many Australians, as the demographic is not particularly dissimilar. This is particularly true of Gippslanders, who have a higher than national average incidence of bowel cancer.
We are here to help.
A/Prof Chris Mills is a world-class interventional and advanced endoscopist (a gastroenterologist with further specialist training in endoscopy) and is currently the only specialist in Gippsland with this level of training and skill. He does not offer ‘direct access’ endoscopy, preferring instead to listen to the needs of his patients and personalize their treatment plan, including their need for a colonoscopy.
To make an appointment please see your GP for a referral, and then contact the GSG rooms on (03) 5630 8800. We are here to help.
Finding colon cancer early provides the best chance of surviving the disease.
Things you MUST do:
01 : don’t think your too young!
02 : don’t ignore abdominal pain
03 : tell your GP if you have rectal bleeding
04 : take note if you have new constipation or diarrhoea
05 : weigh yourself and talk to your GP if you have lost a lot of weight
06 : have a blood test to measure your red blood cells and iron regularly (talk tp your GP if needed)
07 : discuss a colonoscopy with your GP or with us, particularly if you are over the age of 45
08 : call our friendly admin team if you have symptoms and aren’t sure what to do - or talk to your GP!