Men’s health advocate urges men to use bowel screening kits
Men’s Resources Tasmania President Stig Stover is championing the Tasmanian Department of Health’s push to encourage more men to use their bowel cancer screening kit when it arrives in the mail.
Twelve years ago, just after he turned 50, Stig received his first bowel test kit in the mail and put it aside for a few months. Upon reading the instructions, he realised it wasn’t too hard to complete the test so posted it off and was stunned to receive a positive diagnosis a few weeks later.
A colonoscopy and CT colonography found a large growth in his bowel, which was soon removed. The growth turned out to be an aggressive form of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which would have escalated to a serious outcome had he not acted quickly.
Four months later, after surgery and chemotherapy, Stig was in remission with no trace of any growth or cancerous activity. The whole episode marked Stig’s journey into men’s health and health literacy in particular.
“Many men feel it's quite tricky to be involved in any health services and health support, so they sweep it under the rug,” says Stig, who switched careers as an engineer and corporate manager to a coach and mentor, working with men. “There are some men who see it as their badge of honour to not visit their GP or participate in screening. They take pride in seeing themselves as bulletproof.”
Stig Stover: Men's Resources Tasmania
The age eligibility for bowel screening has been lowered from 50 to 45 years. Those aged between 50 and 74 automatically get a kit in the mail every two years. Those younger (45-49) can request a kit.
According to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, around 38.9% of men in Australia participate in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP), meaning they return a completed screening test kit when sent one, which is lower than the participation rate for women at 42.8%.
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common type of newly diagnosed cancer and second deadliest in Australia for people aged 25-44. According to Bowel Cancer Australia, 14,534 Australians are told they have bowel cancer each year. Of these, 99% of cases can be treated successfully when detected in the earliest stage, however 5,275 lives are lost to bowel cancer each year.
Bowel cancer in men: the facts
- The third most common type of newly diagnosed cancer and third deadliest cancer in men.
- 7,833 men are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year, including 848 (11%) under age 50.
- 2,746 men die from bowel cancer each year, including 141 (5%) under age 50.
- 54% of Australians diagnosed with bowel cancer are men of all ages.
For Stig, whose case was highlighted by the Department of Health, Tasmania on World Cancer Day (4 February), eligible Tasmanians, in particular men, should do the bowel test and other important health checks.
KNOW YOUR MAN FACTS: 7 Health Checks to Get Before You Die
“Just do it, you don't actually know what you're going to find. If I hadn't done that test, I wouldn't have had those 10 years up to now, of that I'm convinced,” he says.