Availability In Thailand Of Home Screening For Bowel Cancer?

[R123]

An acquaintance of mine in England who is now over 60 is being sent by the NHS a home screening test kit for bowel cancer. Does anyone know if such kits can be obtained in Thailand?

Edited March 8, 2013 by R123

[Chicog]

Since it normally involves sticking a small spatula into your poo, bagging it up and sending it off to a lab, I'd be surprised if they don't provide them.

[Sheryl]

Not that I know of.

(I think he is referring to home tests, not sending specimens to lab. The latter of course they can do here, but I have not seen the home kits available anywhere).

These tests, whether the home version or sent to lab, do not exactly test for bowel cancer. They test of occult blood in the stool, which is usually (but not always) present in bowel cancer (and can also be present due to other causes).

[R123]

Thank you Sheryl I am referring to the home kit. If I want or need such a test in Thailand i suppose best to go to one of the hospitals for it. Apparently in the UK on the NHS and for free everyone over 60 is invited to do the home kit test.

[Sheryl]

Yes, any hospital can do it. It is often part of check up packages and if not can be added at minimal cost. Not that multiple tests are needed (on different days), a single one is not enough. Most Thai hospitals will do just one test but you can request multiple (will mean you have to bring specimen back on subsequent days).

Stoll test for occult blood is not as reliable as a colonoscopy but obviously less invasive and much less expensive. A main limitation is that it will usually not detect polyps, and polyps may sometimes become cancerous later; a colonoscopy can both detect and remove polyps.

There has long been debate about the cost-benefit of different approaches to screening for cancer of the colon. The following are the current recommendations of the American Cancer Society for people with no special risk factors (i.e. no family history of cancer of the colon, no personal history of polyps or inflammatory bowel disease).

People at average risk

The American Cancer Society believes that preventing colorectal cancer (and not just finding it early) should be a major reason for
getting tested. Finding and removing polyps keeps some people from getting colorectal cancer. Tests that have the best chance of finding both polyps and cancer are preferred if these tests are available to you and you are willing to have them.

Beginning at age 50, both men and women at average risk for developing colorectal cancer should use one of the screening tests below:

Tests that find polyps and cancer: Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years* OR Colonoscopy every 10 years OR Double-contrast barium enema every 5 years* OR CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) every 5 years* Tests that mainly find cancer: Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) every year*,** OR Fecal immunochemical test (FIT) every year*,**

*Colonoscopy should be done if test results are positive.

**For FOBT or FIT used as a screening test, the take-home multiple sample method should be used. An FOBT or FIT done during a digital rectal exam in the doctor's office is not adequate for screening.

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/colonandrectumcancer/moreinformation/colonandrectumcancerearlydetection/colorectal-cancer-early-detection-acs-recommendations

For people with risk factors, colonoscopy is definitely indicated, see the above site for frequency and specifics