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Towards a National Cancer Research Plan Bowel cancer may be one of the winners in a future realignment of cancer research dollars designed to better match the relative impact of specific cancers in the community. A discussion paper by the Cancer Research Leadership Forum (CRLF) shows clearly that bowel cancer research is poorly funded compared to research for other types of cancer.
Decade of Dithering Ten years after a National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) was first piloted, approximately 5.4 million Australians continue to miss out on a simple but life-saving screening test, said Bowel Cancer Australia.[i] The Federal Government’s NBCSP is still only available as a one-off test to people turning 50, 55 or 65 years of age between January 2011 and December 2014.
FOBruary 2012 In an effort to raise awareness of a simple test that could save your life, Bowel Cancer Australia is supporting FOBruary,an initiative of our friends at Let's Beat Bowel Cancer. FOBruary is a month long campaign to raise awareness of Faecal Occult Blood (FOB) testing - a vital tool in helping prevent bowel cancer.
A fruitful sponsorship for Bowel Cancer Australia Aussie Apples has nominated Bowel Cancer Australia (BCA) as their charity of choice. The brand is a good fit for BCA given the role of a healthy diet in cancer prevention and also because of BCA’s longstanding use of the red apple logo.
BCA and CSSANZ join forces for stronger voice on bowel cancer Australia’s leading bowel cancer charity and the country’s peak professional body for colorectal surgeons are working together to give a stronger, local voice to bowel cancer.
XELOX listed on PBS Approximately 800 patients per year are expected to benefit from today’s extended Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) listing of Xeloda® (capecitabine). The treatment is now available on the PBS for patients with advanced bowel cancer – stage III (Dukes C) - in combination with another chemotherapy, oxaliplatin. The combination therapy is known as XELOX.
Understanding bowel cancer Bowel Cancer Australia has just launched a new set of patient resources. Expanding upon the current list of patient information, the new booklets are designed to increase understanding of bowel cancer and support patients through the various phases of their bowel cancer journey.
Information at your fingertips They’re short on words but big on impact - four new ‘pathway’ documents have been added to Bowel Cancer Australia’s online library. Each of the one-page pathways provides a simple to follow, diagrammatic illustration of a key aspect of the bowel cancer journey.

Request a Kit

All Australians aged 50 & over, who do not have symptoms or a family history of bowel cancer, are encouraged to undertake bowel cancer screening. 

Request your test kit today!

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A Healthy Community

Bowel cancer is something people don’t like to talk about; it’s a conversation killer.  Our aim is to stop people dying of embarrassment. 

Click here for more information.

 




We publish a wide range of useful patient information,
covering all aspects of bowel cancer. Click here to find out more.

 
 

Bowel Cancer Australia's 'Love My Family' Community is a voluntary network of people affected by bowel cancer, whether personally or via a family member. 
 
The Community is informal, and people can be as involved as their time and lifestyle allow, in a variety of ways - including offering support to other patients or relatives about their bowel cancer experience; listening to their concerns and sharing experiences; and raising awareness via local media or through our Healthy Community Program. 
 
Through the Community, we aim to put people in touch with each other - matching them by age, gender, region and their stage of bowel cancer and treatment pathway.  Click here for more information.

 

Bowel Cancer Pathway

Bowel cancer is preventable, treatable and beatable.  Whether you are seeking information about diet, screening or a bowel cancer diagnosis, our pathways help to explain and guide you through your journey.

Having the right information and an understanding of what is happening can help you play an active part in your health care, and help you better understand your treatment and medication.

Certainly, your medical team are the experts in the disease but it is your life, your illness, your body.  Don’t be rushed into making decisions before you’ve had a chance to reflect and don’t be frightened to ask about anything you don’t understand.  Be confident to ask about the choices available to you, and seek a second opinion to gain more information before making any decision.

2012 Challenge

The Bowel Cancer 2012 Challenge, released in May 2009, is an important policy-shaping consensus statement which calls for improved services and outcomes for bowel cancer patients.

In June 2010, the Atlas of Bowel Cancer Mortality and Spotlight on Screening were released to highlight the number of bowel cancer deaths across the nation between 2002-2006.

As many as 5.4 million Australians are currently missing out on life saving screening because of a lack of funding and government action.

Help us to ensure there is sufficient policy emphasis on bowel cancer prevention as well as support for Australians diagnosed with the disease.

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Real Life Stories

Mary's story (43, VIC)

Unlike many people, I had severe symptoms for some time before I got my diagnosis. For four weeks during the time of seeing my doctor and being diagnosed I had very bad stomach pains and was completely unable to eat. 

My condition continued to deteriorate all the time – the stomach pain came and went, becoming sharper and more intense as time passed, and I was generally very sick. By the end of this 4 week period, I was unable to walk.   During this time I saw four GPs, each of whom had a different opinion about what was wrong with me and even when I was eventually hospitalised the bowel cancer wasn’t picked up.
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Are you at risk?

           
Both men and women are at risk of developing bowel cancer.  The risk is greater if you -

  • are aged 50 years and over; or
     
  • have a personal or family history of bowel cancer or polyps; or
     
  • have had an inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

There is emerging evidence regarding type 2 diabetes as a potential risk factor for bowel cancer, however further research is required.

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