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Criteria for Cancer Screening Programs
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set the following criteria for a cancer screening program;
it is an important health problem
the natural history of the disease is adequately understood
there is a recognisable latent or early symptomatic stage
there is an accepted treatment for patients with recognised disease
facilities are available in th community for diagnosis and treatment
Faecal Occult (hidden) Blood Tests (FOBT's) such as Coloscreen testused by the Rotary District 9650 Bowelscan Program fulfils the above WHO criteria.
The test is done at home and involves obtaining a small stool specimen from the toilet bowl and applying to a test slide. The test slide is the returned to Rotary for testing at a pathology laboratory.
A negative result from the ColoScreen test means there was no evidence of occult blood in the stool sample(s) and does NOT confirm the absence of colorectal cancer, polyps or other gastrointestinal disorder. Therefore persons should draw their doctor's attention to any changes is bowel habit or other symptons of colorectal cancer. A positive ColoScreen test means that there was evidence of occult blood in a stool sample but does not becessarily mean a person has colorectal cancer. Most often a positive result is due to other factors (eg - haemorrhoids or a dietary interface with the test).
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