By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
ONE person in Australia will die from bowel cancer every two hours.
And Dandenong Rotary is doing its bit to reduce this shocking figure in the City of Casey.
Rotarian Trevor Harding’s niece Debbie Greer died from the disease about 15 years ago at the age of 38.
“She’d had a colonoscopy as well and they missed it,” he said.
“It’s scary. It’s really scary.”
So he’s helping others avoid her fate by running a project that offers $10 Bowelscan kits at Berwick and Dandenong pharmacies during May.
“We have saved five people in the Dandenong area,” Mr Harding said.
“We give out, not enough, but around about 250 tests.
“We would like to see four or five times that many.”
Participants return the test to their chemist to be sent for testing.
“These tests don’t detect cancer,” Mr Harding said.
“They detect blood in your system, then they refer you to a doctor to get it checked out further.
“Do not wait for symptoms to appear before acting – it might be too late.”
Kits are available from Berwick Pharmacy at 51-53 High Street, St John of God Pharmacy at 3 Gibb Street, Terry White Chemists in Dandenong Plaza, Dandenong Central Pharmacy on the corner of Walker and Langhorne streets, and Chemist Warehouse at 265 Lonsdale Street.
Call Mr Harding on 0409 797 730 for more information.
