Bowel cancer screening saves lives in Hutt, Wairarapa

The lives of eight people have been saved in the first eight months of bowel screening in Hutt Valley and Wairarapa. Bowel cancer kills 1200 people a year in New Zealand - one of the highest rates in the world. A pilot programme in Waitemata paved the way for national screening, which is being rolled out in stages until 2021. Hutt Valley and Wairarapa were first to begin under the national programme, last July, with Waitemata making the transition in January. The programme's clinical director, Susan Parry, says 14 cases of bowel cancer have been detected in Hutt Valley and Wairarapa to date. She told RNZ health correspondent Karen Brown that means 14 people have had the chance to have treatment - although not all can be saved.