To combat the low screening rate in the department, test kits for colorectal cancer can be sent directly, without going through the general practitioner.
It is a cancer that is hardly talked regarding, and a test that is still somewhat taboo. Colorectal cancer is however the 3rd most common cancer in men, behind those of the prostate and the lung, and the 2nd cause of death by cancer in France. This led to a change of protocol for the delivery of the test kit, now accessible by ordering on the Internet. This new process is part of the ten-year strategy (2021-2030) to fight cancer.
In the Gers, only 35% of the target population are tested. “It’s not too bad, compared to the national figures, says Dr Anny Humbert, doctor at the CRCDC-OC *. But to do well, 65% of Gersois would have to be screened. There, we are far from the account, and we have to admit that it doesn’t work.”
Since the beginning of March, it has been possible for eligible people, and invited to organized colorectal cancer screening, to receive a free screening test at home.
Until now, the target audiences received an invitation every two years to talk regarding colorectal cancer screening with their doctor. He checked whether or not the patient presented specific risks requiring appropriate monitoring, before giving him the screening kit.
Forgetting and Covid
This procedure remains in force, but is coupled with the possibility of doing the process yourself. “I knew I had to take the test when I was 50 years old, explains Olivier, a 52-year-old Auscitan. I went to my doctor, and I asked him for the test, but he had not received it. J I waited a year before I might do it.” Such mishaps occur when the practitioners have not been delivered – it has happened that the CNAM does not award a public contract and finds itself running out of tests – or when the expiry times of the kit have passed. But the Covid did not help matters. “Sometimes, between the health protocols and the examinations, I did not think of talking to my patients regarding the possibility of a test. And I happened to forget to supply myself”, confides an Auscitan general practitioner. Additional complications for a test that raises a lot of reluctance, linked to more cultural than medical notions: hygiene, morals, etc.
Worse, the Covid led people whose tests had turned out to be positive not to consult followingwards. “I still have patients who tell me that they don’t want to go to the hospital for a colonoscopy for fear of catching the Covid, says Dr. Humbert. And others who confuse the test with the colonoscopy…”
The CRCDC-OC services receive via the CPAM or the MSA lists of people who have given their consent to notify them of the test campaigns.
Test simple
With the invitation received, it is possible to identify yourself on the Health Insurance website: monkit.depistage-colorectal.fr. After a few questions, and in the absence of any particular risk, the insured can order the test to receive it at home. “When we’ve already done a PCR test for the Covid, it’s nothing, specifies Olivier. I was expecting something complicated, or dirty, but not at all!” If blood is found in the stool during the test, a colonoscopy is done. It makes it possible to diagnose colorectal cancer at an early stage, sometimes to avoid cancer by identifying warning signs. Detected early, colorectal cancer is curable in 9 out of 10 cases. Dr. Humbert also points out that 40% of cancers might be avoided by a little daily physical exercise and a more varied diet. “This represents 2 less cancers out of 5. It is worth thinking regarding.”
A race once morest cancer this Saturday
On the occasion of Mars Bleu, the awareness month for colorectal cancer screening, the Gers Cancer League is getting involved. Alone, with friends or family, she invites you to take part in a “Mars Bleu” race, on March 26 at 2 p.m., from CIRCa in Auch. Prices: 8 km run, €10; 8 km Nordic walk, €10; 5 km walk, €5. For more information, you can contact the Gers committee on 05 62 61 24 24 or cd32@ligue-cancer.net; www.inscriptionsenligne.fr
