One in twenty Australians suffer colorectal cancer (also known as bowel cancer). It is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in Australia.

Yet one third of deaths can be prevented by early detection, so the Preventative Health Flagship is looking at how to encourage people to take a simple screening test and save their lives.

The challenge to boost the number of people screened for colorectal cancer has been taken up by Flagship researcher Professor Deborah Turnbull, Deputy Head, Psychology Department, University of Adelaide, and leading gastroenterologist Professor Graeme Young, from Flinders University.

Working with the CSIRO’s Dr Carlene Wilson and Ingrid Flight, and fellow collaborator Stephen Cole from the Repatriation General Hospital in Adelaide, the group is looking at how to motivate people to test themselves for the cancer using a simple test.

The faecal occult blood test (FOBT) identifies the presence of haemoglobin from blood in stool samples. Studies have shown that early screening using the test can prevent 15 to 33 per cent of deaths.

The team last year won a National Health and Medical Research Council grant for a three-year study to look at how best to get the message out about the importance of colorectal cancer screening and thereby improve participation in early screening programs.

Their collaboration is now being broadened to include international researchers based in the United States.

Initial work included interviews with more than 600 people to gain a better understanding of the reticence people had towards the test.

Dr Wilson says the team’s challenge is to tell people the positive message about the treatable nature of the cancer, if detected early.

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The Preventative Health Flagship is a CSIRO initiative and part of the National Research Flagships program that aims to deliver scientific solutions to advance Australia's most important national objectives. One of the largest scientific initiatives ever mounted in Australia, it aligns closely with the Federal Government's National Research Priorities. The initiative brings together our national research resources to deliver breakthroughs in fields ranging from healthcare to light metals and the environment.

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