Importance of bowel screening
Watch: How bowel screening and colonoscopy can prevent bowel cancer.
Bowel cancer is one of the most common – and most preventable – cancers. Regular bowel screening allows us to detect polyps early, long before symptoms appear. By identifying and removing these pre-cancerous growths, we can dramatically reduce the chance of bowel cancer developing.
How Polyps Develop Into Cancer
Most bowel cancers begin as small growths on the inner lining of the colon called polyps. The most important type is the adenoma – a benign (non-cancerous) polyp that can slowly transform over time.
- Polyps typically grow very slowly, often over 5–10 years.
- During this time, cells may gradually accumulate changes that increase their cancer risk.
- Because this process is slow, there is a long opportunity to detect and remove polyps early.
Not all polyps turn into cancer, but almost all bowel cancers begin as a polyp — which is why early detection is so powerful.
How Colonoscopy Prevents Bowel Cancer
A colonoscopy is the most accurate way to examine the entire large bowel. It allows our endoscopists to:
- See the bowel lining directly
- Identify even very small or flat polyps
- Remove polyps (adenomas) during the same procedure
Removing a polyp at colonoscopy immediately prevents it from ever turning into cancer. Colonoscopy is one of the few medical procedures that can actively prevent cancer, not just diagnose it. Waitemata Endoscopy has one of the highest adenoma detection rates world wide due to its expert endoscopist with 70% of patients having polyps removed (48% are tubular adenoma, 3% tubulovillous, 20% sessile serrated). We are active in bowel screening research, see our latest research on AI in polyp detection https://nzmj.org.nz/media/pages/journal/vol-135-no-1561/artificial-intelligence-improves-adenoma-detection-rate-during-colonoscopy/cb92ccdc3e-1696472947/artificial-intelligence-improves-adenoma-detection-rate-during-colonoscopy.pdf
Why Regular Screening Matters
Polyps rarely cause symptoms. Most people feel completely well even when pre-cancerous growths are present. Relying on symptoms means waiting until cancer has already developed.
Regular bowel screening:
- Detects polyps early
- Allows safe removal in the same procedure
- Reduces your lifetime risk of bowel cancer
- Can identify early-stage cancers, when treatment is most effective
Bowel cancer is highly preventable when polyps are found early.
Take Charge of Your Health
If you’re aged 45 and over, or have a family history of bowel cancer, or blood in your stool, or a change in bowel habits, now is the right time to consider bowel screening. A simple, well-tolerated colonoscopy today could prevent a cancer tomorrow.
Book a Screening Consultation