Rotary District 9630 South Brisbane to Charleville will conduct their "Bowelscan" cancer screening project for the 5 1h year in a row. Since the commencement of the program over 46 positive results have been detected.

This year's Bowelscan will commence in the Logan area on the 3rd March. Screening kits will be available for purchase from 4 local pharmacies who are volunteering their time and expertise to assist the Rotary Club of Loganholme in sending the message that $6 could save your life.

The kits will be available from the pharmacies for the month of March and will be sold by Loganholme Rotarians in the Logan Hyperdome on Friday 14 1h March until Sunday 16 March between the hours of 9am 5pm.

Colorectal cancer is the commonest internal cancer affecting both men and women in Australia and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer related death. On average, one in 19 Australian men and one in 27 Australian women will develop colorectal cancer by the age of 75 years. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is mostly seen in persons aged 40 years and over and from the age of 50 years its incidence rises sharply.

The Bowelscan kit as sold by Rotary is the least expensive of the most common methods of colorectal screening and is well accepted by most participants.

The test is done at home and involves obtaining a small stool specimen from the toilet bowl. The sample is collected on a small wooden applicator which is used to apply a thin smear onto a test slide provided for in the kit. This is repeated for 3 separate bowel movements. Completing all 3 test slides is very important. Testing 3 bowel motions increases the chance of detection any irregularities.

Why does Rotary run an Annual Bowelscan Programme ?

The programme is a Community Service to bring about a greater awareness in the community of the symptoms, prevalence, risk factors and preventative means available to combat the disease.

Rotary has undertaken to notify all participants of the result of their tests. If you have not received notification within 21 days, you can be reasonably confident that a negative result has occurred. Positive results will be notified as soon as possible and within 14 days. Persons over 40 years are encouraged to undertake the Bowelscan every year.

Kits are available for purchase at only $6 each from the following Pharmacies for the month of March. All kits must be returtned to the pharmacy by the 30 April 2003:

Terry White Chemist Hyperdome; Soul Patterson Chemist Hyperdome Bryants Road Pharmacy Shailer Park and ; Daisy Hill Pharmacy

MARIE GRANT Director Community Services, Rotary JUDY FARMER Harvey World Travel Daisy Hill Rotary Club of Loganholme

Instructions for "Bowelscan" Kit Selling

Sale price per kit is $6

The registration form must be completed by the buyer pus his or her name and phone number must be noted in the column provided on the open tab side of the kit under the yellow instructions sheet.

Buyer then takes away the entire kit, after completing these 2 items

Insturctions on dieting, methods of sample collection etcl are all listed on outside the envelope.

Kits to be returned to pharmacies by the 30 April 2003. No kits will be

collected after that date.

Rotary will collect the kits from the relevant chemists 3 times per week and deliver then to Sullivan & Nicholaides. Patholodist will do the test for free.

"Positive" results should be advised within 14 21 days of testing.

"Negative" results will be advised whenever. If no word,within 21 days usually indicates a negative test.

Bowelscan is not a cure for cancer it is a screening process which could indicate a problem existing in the bowel.

Medical questions should not be answered. Persons regularly undergoing colonoscopies should not be a part of this screening process.

Pharmacies will store kits and money for collection by Rotarian.

If all else fails contact Marie 3364 6089 Work (ring work first to see if 1 am there) or Home 3824 5507