The Singapore Cancer Society 4th Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month Public Symposium

05 Mar 2005

By Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister Of State For Information, Communications And The Arts and Health

Venue: Meritus Mandrin

Mr Tan Geok Tian Chairman,

Singapore Cancer Society

Dr Tang Choong Leong

Organising Chairman

Ladies and Gentleman

Introduction

This is the fourth year that the Singapore Cancer Society is organizing a public symposium on colorectal cancer. I applaud the Singapore Cancer Society for its continuous efforts in spearheading colorectal cancer awareness in Singapore

Colorectal Cancer - an emerging public health concern

Colorectal cancer, cancer of the large bowel, is one of the common cancers and a leading cause of cancer of death in the world. In 2002, there were about 1 million new cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed worldwide.

In Singapore, colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in men and in women. However, it is the most common cancer when both men and women are combined. The number of new cases has increased since the late sixties. For the 5-year period 1998 - 2002, about 5500 new cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed and about 2,900 people have died from it.

Screening for colorectal cancer - addressing the concerns

Screening for colorectal cancer detects the disease at an early stage when the disease is localized and there are no symptoms. Those screened positive will have to undergo further tests at the hospitals to confirm the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. The cure rate in people detected in the early stages of the cancer can be as high as 90%.

A relatively simple and inexpensive screening test for colorectal cancer is the Fecal Occult Blood test; or FOBT in short. FOBT detects the presence of blood in the stools.

Current situation

The Singapore Cancer Society started free FOBT screening 3 years ago and has handed out free FOBT kits at public forums, community centre talks and community health fairs.

In the past three years about 6,500 people have been screened by the Singapore Cancer Society. Five percent had positive FOBT results and 26 people were confirmed to have colorectal cancer.

The Singapore Cancer Society will be embarking on a public education programme to increase the awareness of the signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer, the risk factors, and early detection through screening. Educational pamphlets will also be produced for distribution to hospitals, private clinics and polyclinics. Health education videos to promote colorectal cancer awareness will be screened at the polyclinics as well.

I am pleased to note that the Singapore Cancer Society will be working with all the polyclinics to provide free FOBT screening kits. During the Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, free FOBT kits will also be given out to the public at certain heartland malls.

Conclusion

The theme for today's symposium, "Colorectal Cancer - Screen for Life Singapore" emphasizes the importance of screening for colorectal cancer for early detection to increase the cure rate. I wish the Singapore Cancer Society success in its efforts to fight colorectal cancer.

I wish all of you an enjoyable afternoon.