WHY BOWEL CANCER SCREENING IS A NEEDED HEALTH CARE INVESTMENT

Abstract

This year 17,000 Australians will be diagnosed with bowel cancer, every week 80 people will die from this disease, and the cost of treatment will hit $1 billion. So it is shocking to realise that Australia’s nascent National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) has run out of funding and ground to a halt. We have been warned that the May budget will be tight, with strict fiscal rules. However with Australia facing an aging population, and hence an increased burden of bowel cancer, restoring the NBCSP is a sound investment in the health of all Australians and in the long-term health of the budget.