Cancer has been detected in two people in the first four months of Whanganui's bowel screening programme, which was launched in the Whanganui District Health Board region in October.
Figures for the four months to the end of February show 68 positive results from the easy-to-use test kits, which are posted to people's homes. Positive results have led to 28 follow-up colonoscopies, with cancer found in two patients.
Project lead for the Whanganui programme, Ben McMenamin, said the results highlighted why bowel screening was of the utmost importance.
"Bowel cancer kills around 1200 Kiwis every year, but screening every two years can save lives by helping find the cancer early when it can often be successfully treated," he said.
"People who are diagnosed with early stage bowel cancer, and who receive treatment early, have a 90 per cent chance of long-term survival.