Cancer Council is calling for all eligible Geelong residents to take part in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) with the return of the ‘giant knitted bowel’ to the city’s centre.
Cancer Council’s new Get2it campaign, in partnership with the Australian Government Department of Health, is looking to improve Australian bowel cancer screening rates which currently sit at only 43.5%. In Geelong, screening rates are slightly higher at 47.1%.
Geelong residents aged 50 to 74 receive a free at home bowel screening test every two years in the mail.
To inspire the local community to Get2it and complete their bowel screening test, the giant knitted bowel, consisting of 50km (30kg) of wool, was shown at Geelong Library this week.
Cancer survivor Claire Norman was one of the team members who knitted, sewed and decorated the knitted bowel back in 2017.
“It was originally an initiative of Allied Health workers at Southwest Healthcare in Warrnambool,” she said.
“The knitting itself and discussion around it helped to open conversations about bowel cancer, bowel issues and bowel testing.
“It’s great that the giant knitted bowel has come to Geelong. It’s a chance for people here to find out more about the large bowel and to get an idea of what a polyp, a growth or a haemorrhoid looks like, even if it is crocheted.
“As a cancer survivor, I want to encourage everyone aged 50 to 74 to do the bowel screening test. As they say, just Get2it – it’s not difficult and finding out early could save your life.”
Bowel cancer is currently Australia’s second biggest cancer killer. Every year around 15,000 new cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed in Australia. However, 90% of bowel cancer cases could be successfully treated if caught early.
