{"id":340779,"date":"2023-11-17T15:51:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T05:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=340779"},"modified":"2023-11-17T16:46:13","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T06:46:13","slug":"free-bowel-kits-save-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/11\/17\/free-bowel-kits-save-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Bowel Kits Save Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ree Birgan is urging South Burnett residents to use their free bowel screening kits (Photo: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

November 17, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Goomeri woman is urging South Burnett residents to “Get2it” when it comes to bowel cancer screening after her own brush earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Ree Birgan, 65, said she had been a regular user of the free bowel screening kits after she received her first one from the Federal Government when she turned 50.<\/p>\n

“I probably did the first two, but then I let life get in the way and I stopped doing them,” she said.<\/p>\n

However, an appointment with her GP sparked her back into action.<\/p>\n

“He said to me, ‘Have you done your bowel screening test?’,” Ree said.<\/p>\n

“He said, ‘I think you should. I have just done mine and it’s come back positive’.”<\/p>\n

She resolved that when the next one arrived, she would do it.<\/p>\n

“And I did, and it was fine, but then the next one I did early this year came back with a positive result.”<\/p>\n

Ree said she had no symptoms that anything was wrong “nothing at all”.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She received her results a short time after sending her kit back.<\/p>\n

“They said I should see my GP so I went and he referred me for a colonoscopy,” Ree said.<\/p>\n

The colonoscopy located several polyps, which were immediately removed.<\/p>\n

One of these was close to becoming cancerous.<\/p>\n

“They definitely got it early,” she said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The specialist said I would be on a watch list now for early detection.<\/p>\n

“It was a pretty big wake-up call and it’s made me change my diet and look at a healthy lifestyle.”<\/p>\n

She said doing the bowel-screening test was “easy as”.<\/p>\n

“The instructions are very simple. It’s just a matter of setting aside the time,” she said.<\/p>\n

Some people may be put off by a perceived “yuck” factor but Ree said they should not be.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The equipment that’s given to you (in the kit) makes it very, very simple,” she said.<\/p>\n

“People imagine it, but it’s not really ‘yuck’ at all.<\/p>\n

“I definitely will be doing the test again!”<\/p>\n

A free bowel cancer screening test is sent out by the Federal Government’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program every two years to six million Australians aged between 50 and 74.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sadly, data shows participation is low with only four in 10 tests completed and sent back.<\/p>\n

This is despite the fact that 90 per cent of cases can be successfully treated if detected early.<\/p>\n

Lost or misplaced kits can also be reordered online.<\/p>\n