Dr Kerryn Phelps, Health Editor, Channel Nine Today, with Steve Liebmann

LIEBMANN: What do you make of this study? Does it have any relevance to what we're doing in Australia?

PHELPS: Well, I think what this really points out is that while you have an increased risk factor for people who have a family history - and that's where a lot of the screening efforts have been placed - that there are 85 per cent of people who get bowel cancer who don't have a known family history of cancer. So, I think it's a matter of being aware of screening if you have no symptoms, and having testing if you do have symptoms.

LIEBMANN: Are screening programs in Australia, though at the moment, too narrowly focussed?

PHELPS: Well, I think that there is a good case for expanding the screening programs. At the moment, there is a recommendation that anyone over the age of 50 with no symptoms should have their bowel motion, or their poo, tested once a year for blood, and that has to be done as, like, a chemical reaction, and a little bit of bowel motion is sent off to the pathology lab…

LIEBMANN: …you can do that yourself too, now, can't you?

PHELPS: There are some home testing kits available.

LIEBMANN: Are they reliable?

PHELPS: I think there's probably variable reliability with those. I think you're better to see your GP and have that arranged in a pathology lab that has a standardised sort of testing done. But if somebody actually has symptoms, like you've got blood in your bowel motions, or they've got abdominal pain, then I think that they should actually go and see their doctor and make sure that they not only have an examination done, but they have another further test done called a colonoscopy.

LIEBMANN: Kerryn, how far off are programs to screen all men and women over 50, I mean, 'population screening' as it's called?

PHELPS: Well, I think that we're still a little way off. There are a lot of calls by experts now that have screening programs piloted so that we have a large population group where we're screening those people and we're seeing how many people are diagnosed and how many die compared to people who are not screened for bowel cancer. And there just seems to be mounting evidence around the world that it's a good idea for people over the age of 40 or 50 … that still has to be decided. To have this test done is very simple to have this done every year.

LIEBMANN: I was going to ask you, how often, how regular should the checks be. You're saying every year?

PHELPS: Every year is for the blood in the bowel motion, and that, once again is a very simple test that can be done as part of your annual check up and particularly if you have a family history of bowel cancer it is very important because you will be in a higher risk. But that's not to say that you're safe if you haven't got a family history. And if you have symptoms, then a test called a colonoscopy is the …… standard, which is a fibre optic light that is on a long tube that is placed inside the bowel and looks right through the lining of the bowel to see if there are any little polyps. Because, in the vast majority of cases, bowel cancers start in little lumps or polyps that are in the lining of the bowel wall, and they're the ones that turn into cancers that need to be treated.

LIEBMANN: And we're talking men and women, here?

PHELPS: We are talking men and women. And it is, in fact, when you consider both sexes, the most common cancer we have - 4,500 deaths from bowel cancer in Australia every year, and around about 10,000 people diagnosed every year with bowel cancer.

LIEBMANN: Alright, and the GP is the first point of reference?

PHELPS: The GP's the first point of call.

LIEBMANN: Give the 'do-it-yourself' kits a miss.

PHELPS: If you want to understand more about bowel cancer, you can contact the Cancer Council in your state and you can be sent a pamphlet or a booklet that will explain to you about bowel cancer. And, of course, I think the first point of contact, if you're wanting more information, is to talk to your GP and talk to them about whether you should be screened or tested further.

LIEBMANN: Okay. Good to see you.

PHELPS: Thank you, Steve.

LIEBMANN: And if you are concerned about the risk of bowel cancer, you can contact the Cancer Information Line on 131 120. Or to contact a cancer support group, you can call 07 47 342 663.

Ends