Editorial: Saving lives cannot wait until 2017

Why the delay?

That's the question the Government must answer after Health Minister Jonathan Coleman indicated the earliest a national screening programme for bowel cancer could be up and running is early 2017.

This, despite a new report which has found New Zealand is lagging in the early detection and treatment of bowel cancer - the most common cancer in the country.

Bowel Cancer New Zealand is calling for an immediate start to a staged rollout which could save hundreds of lives every year.

More than 122 Kiwis die from the cancer each year. The Presentation, Investigation, Pathways Evaluation and Treatment project report found that about 30 per cent of bowel cancer patients first learned they had the disease when they presented acutely to hospital, compared to 20 per cent in Britain.

Of this, 24 per cent of Kiwis were already at Stage 4.

It is difficult to understand why it has taken so long to get a screening programme in place when there is clear evidence that such a programme will save lives.

The Ministry of Health's own website highlights this point and notes that screening is important because there may be no warning signs that bowel cancer is developing.

Bowel screening can also detect polyps (growths) which are not cancer, but they may develop into cancers over time. Polyps can generally be easily removed, reducing the risk of bowel cancer developing.

According to the ministry, recent research and modelling suggests that annual bowel cancer mortality can be reduced by between 14 and 16 per cent over a period of 10 years.

So again, why the delay?

The Government has been criticised for seemingly dragging its heels on this issue when such compelling data exists.

Bay widower Brett Morrison is among those calling for more urgency on the issue. He believes any further delays in setting up the programme will cost lives and cause more heartbreak.

Mr Morrison's 32-year-old wife Sarah died on May 26 this year, after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. He is convinced that his wife would be alive today if a screening programme had been up and running.

He suggests the Government has been selective in the resources it allocates to addressing social and health issues, contrasting the level of publicity given to the road toll and its social cost.

"Cancer rips families apart and I don't understand why screening for it is not given greater priority."

He makes a valid point. As far as public consciousness goes, bowel cancer is not even in the same league as the road toll, or breast cancer, for that matter.

You can understand the frustration expressed by Bowel Cancer New Zealand chairwoman Mary Bradley, who says the latest research shows the Government is failing Kiwis by continuing to stall on implementing a national screening programme.

I agree.

Kiwis are dying from a preventable, treatable and beatable cancer - and that's not good enough.