Sharing stories of bowel screening helps drive participation
We’d like to thank the Victorians who have prioritised bowel screening following Cancer Council Victoria’s latest awareness campaign to encourage people to do the free at-home bowel screening test.
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Bowel cancer can develop with no symptoms or family history. This means that doing regular screening from the age of 50 is important, even if you feel well and live a healthy lifestyle.
In August 2023, Cancer Council Victoria shared Laurie’s story of how the bowel screening test saved his life.
All eligible Victorians aged 50-74 receive a free bowel screening test kit in the mail every two years as part of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.
However, data shows fewer than half (43.9 per cent) of eligible Victorians participated in the two years between 2020-2021. This was a decline from the 46.5 per cent participation rate in the 2019-2020 reporting period.
Bowel cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among Victorian males and the third among Victorian females. Latest Victorian Cancer Registry data shows that 1281 Victorians died from bowel cancer in 2021.
In partnership with the Victorian Department of Health, our campaign looked to increase participation and remind all eligible Victorians to not take the risk and take the bowel screening test.
The National Cancer Screening Register has reported that over 6900 requests for replacement test kits were made via our campaign website — a strong sign of people’s intention to want to do the test. By completing the test, they are also helping their chances to be there for the important moments in life with family and friends.
Since our campaign launched, we’ve also supported 1605 people by sending them personal SMS or email reminders to do the test kit as soon as it comes in the mail, provided instructions on how to do the test and helped them to reorder a test if they lost or misplaced it.
Throughout this campaign, we’ve heard from Victorians on why they do the test and why they would encourage others to also do the test. Their stories were filmed and shared through social media to inspire others to reflect on the moments they wouldn’t want to miss.
One such person was Ann Capling, who at age 58 had a close call with bowel cancer in 2017.
Ann had no symptoms, lived a healthy and active life and had no family history of bowel cancer. However, after her routine bowel screening test came back positive, she had a colonoscopy which found a cancerous polyp.
Ann said she was grateful the kit helped her find the polyp early to ensure she was still able to spend time with her family and friends.
“I shudder to think what would have happened had I left the test sitting on my desk for months or ignored it all together,” she said.
“Instead of living a full and busy life, enjoying adventures with my partner of 30 years and celebrating my adult children’s important milestones, I would have been dealing with the trauma of bowel cancer.”
Ann is now encouraging others to not delay and to do the test as soon as it comes in the mail.
More than 90 per cent of bowel cancers can be treated successfully if found early. If you’re aged 50-74, then you have a higher risk of bowel cancer. By doing the free bowel screening test every two years when it’s sent to you in the mail, it could save your life. Don’t take the risk, take the test.
To learn more about bowel screening or to reorder a replacement test kit, head to cancervic.org.au/bowel
Todd Harper,
Cancer Council Victoria chief executive officer
Think of others less fortunate this Christmas
As Christmas fast approaches, so will the point of crisis for many people struggling to make ends meet.
Christmas is the busiest time of year for the Salvos. A time of hope, joy, and celebration — things that make Christmas good. But the reality is, Aussies are losing the battle to stay afloat.
While generally regarded as a celebration of togetherness with loved ones, Christmas can also be stressful and isolating for many people experiencing hardship, especially in light of the current cost-of-living crisis. Many will be unable to afford basic necessities, such as food, utilities or housing. New research from The Salvation Army shows that 62 per cent of Australians are more stressed about their finances this year.
Behind this statistic lies countless stories of struggle. We are seeing families, once financially stable, now grappling with the daunting challenges of making ends meet. The research also found that nearly half (48.9 per cent) of those seeking help from a charity this Christmas will be doing so for the first time.
People are at breaking point.
This Christmas, we want to ensure that nobody struggles alone. During these times of hardship, it is extremely challenging for people to feel a sense of belonging and connection, especially at a time when being surrounded by loved ones matters most.
While the compounding impacts of the last few years continue, our support for the community will not waver. For more than 140 years, The Salvation Army has journeyed through some of the toughest times alongside the Australian community.
Caring for people lies at the heart of The Salvation Army. By being present in local communities, we hope to provide the support people need for a more hopeful new year.
So please reach out. The Salvos are here to lend a hand to anyone in need this Christmas, whether it is financial support to ease the burden of a stretched household budget, a Christmas hamper to feed the family or ensuring children revel in the magic of the season. We in turn hope to spread the love, peace and joy that is much needed this Christmas.
We want to encourage everyone to embrace the season by connecting with loved ones, sharing meals and spreading joy by giving to one another. We aim to make sure Christmas is a safe and happy time for all — which is why we ask you to give what you can this Christmas. Your contribution goes a long way to ensuring our services can continue to provide gifts, warm meals or a safe place to sleep for those who need it most.
If you would like to donate to The Salvation Army’s Christmas Appeal, or if you need support, please visit salvationarmy.org.au or call 13 SALVOS (13 72 58).
Colonel Rodney Walters,
The Salvation Army
Premier Allan should be championing regional Victoria
Jacinta Allan finally held her first press conference as Premier in her home town Bendigo on Friday, a whole two months after taking the keys to the premier’s private office.
For someone who should be championing regional Victoria, it took far too long to invite the parliamentary press pack to bounce along our crumbling country roads and experience regional Victoria.
Sadly, those two months of regional inactivity, even in her own seat, are emblematic of a big city premier presiding over a government that continues to snub regional areas.
Premier Allan can’t manage money, can’t manage projects and can’t stand up for Victorians, with hard-working regional Victorians copping it even harder than their city counterparts.
The premier has been the minister responsible for 90 per cent of Labor’s massive cost blowouts, meaning more than $12 million a day is being paid to the big banks rather than fixing our roads, hospitals and schools.
Premier Allan’s debt-building legacy is hitting every Victorian in the hip pocket right now, with cost-of-living expenses including our water bills, power bills and even car registration going through the roof.
The premier was the minister responsible for the Commonwealth Games when that fiasco erupted, the cancellation impacting on so many hard-working regional Victorians.
And there is no sign Premier Allan is doing anything to bridge the great divide between city and country.
Analysis from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) shows that only 15 per cent of total asset investment in Labor’s latest budget is taking place in the bush, despite 25 per cent of Victorians living in the regions.
Our regional roads are in decay, with Labor cutting the road maintenance budget by 45 per cent since 2020.
Premier Allan may have fronted at Bendigo Health when she finally visited her home town last week, but it was wallpaper over the cracks of a regional health system in crisis.
The masterplan for an outdated Mildura Base Public Hospital is locked in a vault and much needed redevelopments of the Bairnsdale, Swan Hill and Hamilton hospitals are in limbo.
It’s time for Premier Allan to remember where she’s from.
It’s time regional Victoria was rewarded with its fair share.
Emma Kealy MP,
Deputy Leader of The Nationals
Save your used postage stamps this Christmas
Charitable organisations and places in crisis benefit from used stamps, which are sorted and sold overseas to stamp collectors.
Please save your stamps and give to Beryl Marshall, 2 Burns St, Lockington (please put in box at front door), OR Anne Hutchinson at the Lockington District Business Centre.
Discard stamps which are heavily franked; torn or skinned; biro/pencil cancelled or covered in sticky tape.
Trim to 3mm (1/8”) around. If you’re not sure, and don’t want to trim, please cut a large margin (perhaps ¼ of the envelope) or give the whole envelope. Volunteers with ‘Sammy Stamp’ in Melbourne will trim them.
(If trimming: cut and not torn is preferred please.)
Pre-franked envelopes? Please give the whole envelope.
Also please save empty stamp booklets.
With technology, postage stamps are becoming rare, so please help the less fortunate.
Beryl Marshall,
Lockington
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