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Bowel Cancer Australia welcomes the listing of Braftovi (encorafenib) on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from 1 January 2022 as a treatment option in combination with Erbitux (cetuximab) for patients with BRAF V600E-variant metastatic bowel cancer who have not responded to a prior systemic therapy. 
 
Around 1-in-10 patients diagnosed with metastatic bowel cancer have the BRAF mutation.
 
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Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages during adolescence increases the risk of developing bowel cancer in females under age 50 according to research published in the journal Gut, supporting public health calls for a reduction in sugar consumption.
 
Compared with women who drank less than one 226 gram serving of sugar-sweetened beverages per week, those who drank two or more servings per day had just over twice the risk of developing young-onset bowel cancer.
 
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“When I was first diagnosed with bowel cancer, looking after my mental health was one of those things that was at the bottom of my list because I was trying to stay alive physically,” said Wendy, a mother of three, who was diagnosed with metastatic bowel cancer last year.

Although focusing on the body is incredibly important, so too is the state of your mind.

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My name is Rob and at the age of 43, I was diagnosed with stage 4 rectal cancer that metastasised (spread) to my liver.

Normally, I would be training for my next Ironman or running events or training others to do the same. Instead, I’m training (fighting) to get to the most important finish line of my life!

This World mCRC Day, let’s come together, spread the word on awareness, take up the fight as one world, and kick bowel cancer in the arse!

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With rates of bowel cancer rising around the world among young patients with no risk factors, researchers have begun to question whether antibiotics may be playing a role.

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections. Some are highly specialised and are only effective against certain bacteria.
 
Others, known as broad-spectrum antibiotics, attack a wide range of bacteria, including ones that are beneficial to us.
 
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From 1 August 2021, patients with unresectable or metastatic bowel cancer that is mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) will have a new treatment option, with the subsidised listing of Keytruda (Pembrolizumab) on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

Tumours with the dMMR biomarker contain abnormalities that affect the proper repair of DNA inside the cell.

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The latest National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) Report released today by the AIHW reveals participation rates continue to hover at 43.5% and colonoscopy wait times for those who receive a positive screen far exceed the recommended 30 days.

According to the report, 5.74 million people aged 50-74 were invited to participate in the NBCSP in 2018-19 but only 2.49 million took up the offer.
 
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The biologic treatment Avastin has been withdrawn from the PBS as of today and a biosimilar brand called Mvasi has been listed.

Unless metastatic bowel cancer patients pay privately to continue treatment with Avastin, they will be force-switched to Mvasi.

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A report written by Bowel Cancer Australia highlights the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on diagnosing Australia’s second deadliest cancer.
 
Colonoscopy waitlists existed prior to COVID-19 and have been further compounded further by the pandemic. Studies show delays increase the risk for bowel cancer progression and mortality.
 
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