| March is colorectal cancer awareness month and the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Program (SMRCP) at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) has organized Bottoms Up, a region-wide campaign to encourage people to get screened. |
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| “Colorectal cancer is largely preventable with appropriate screening, yet it still remains a top three cause of cancer deaths in Canada. Prevention and early detection with stool samples or colonoscopy are far easier than the treatments which include surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation,” says Dr. Kyle Fortinsky, Gastroenterologist at RVH and Cancer Care Ontario Regional Lead for Simcoe-Muskoka. |
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| What is colorectal cancer screening? |
| Colorectal cancer screening detects small growths in the cells lining the colon or rectum, called polyps, which can turn into cancer over time. |
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| Why is colorectal screening important? |
| If polyps are found, they can be removed before they potentially turn into cancer. When colorectal cancer is caught early, nine out of 10 people can be cured. |
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| When to screen for colorectal cancer |
| It varies, depending on your risk level. |
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| If you are 50 to 74 years old with no first-degree relative (parent, sibling, or child) who has been diagnosed with colorectal cancer, you are considered average risk and should get screened once every two years with an at-home fecal immunochemical test (FIT). |
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| You are considered at increased risk if you have a family history that includes one or more first-degree relative with the disease. In that case, you should get screened with a colonoscopy (a procedure done by a doctor) starting at 50 or 10 years earlier than the age of your relative when diagnosed, whichever comes first. |
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| In Simcoe Muskoka, 34 per cent of eligible people are due for colorectal screening. |
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| How to get screened |
| Call the Simcoe Muskoka Cancer screening hotline 1-866-608-6910 for more information. |
