The roll-out of the free national bowel screening programme began this week, although it won't be until after July next year that it is introduced in Hawke's Bay.
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said letters were this week being sent to eligible residents within the Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHBs, which were the first to offer the screening that aimed to detect bowel cancer at an early stage to improve treatment outcomes.
"Over the next two years, approximately 30,000 residents in the Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHB areas will be invited to do the bowel screening test," he said.
"Every year around 3,000 New Zealanders are diagnosed with bowel cancer and more than 1,200 die from it. Once screening is available nationwide it's expected that up to 700 cancers will be detected annually."
The Hawke's Bay District Health Board's $11.8 million endoscopy unit is scheduled to open in August next year, and was expected to bolster the hospital's ability to prevent and treat bowel cancer.