00:01So bowel cancer is Australia's fifth most common cancer. So we see increasing rates
00:07of bowel cancer in people over the age of 50 generally speaking and that's still where
00:11we really do see most cases. But over the last 40 years something has happened and we
00:17really need to understand that better but we are starting to see more cases in younger
00:22people, so people under the age of 50. We think though that lifestyle factors or let's
00:29call them behavioural risk factors have a pretty big impact on bowel cancer, responsible
00:34for about 50% of cases. So when we think about what those risk factors are, things like smoking,
00:41alcohol, being above a healthy body weight, physical activity and diet, they're really
00:47responsible for a significant amount of bowel cancers. And how we live has changed over
00:53the last 40 years so that's likely to be a big contributing factor. But there's other
00:58factors still unknown and so need to really explore that further. It's really important
01:02to understand the symptoms of bowel cancer especially for people under the age of 45.
01:07So things like rectal bleeding, noticing blood in your poo, having an unusual bowel habit for
01:15you and abdominal pain as well. So they can be easily missed as well and they can be vague
01:22symptoms as well. So sometimes bowel cancer might not be the first thing that springs to mind. So
01:27it's important to be persistent if those symptoms are persistent as well. It really is great news that
01:34we're seeing a decline but we still know that for Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people
01:40that they are one and a half times more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and two times more likely
01:45to die.
01:46So whilst these statistics and the numbers are looking really promising, there's a lot we need to do and
01:52it's around participation in screening. It's about ensuring that vaccination for cancer such as HPV vaccinations
02:01are equitably available and that programs and services are really culturally appropriate for
02:08First Nations people to participate. The HPV vaccination has really made such a difference to
02:14this cancer and the incidence of it. So ensuring that participation in vaccination, it's really important
02:22to get that consent that young people are vaccinated in their first year of high school and that's really
02:28seen a big decline and driving decline but also our screening program in Australia has been a huge success
02:35and with the addition of self-collection more recently we've seen populations participate that
02:41previously hadn't and that's really important as well so really helps drive that equity so that all
02:46Australians can benefit from this program.
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