More than 420,000 Hongkongers have gone through the Department of Health’s colorectal cancer screenings as of last year, among which 2,900 were diagnosed with the cancer.
The scheme, launched in 2016, subsidizes asymptomatic elderly residents aged between 50 and 75 to receive screening services in the private sector.
Rita Ho Ka-wai, head of the DH’s Non-Communicable Disease Branch, said more than 420,000 people have participated in the scheme as of the end of last year and nearly 64,000 of them have had to undergo a colonoscopy.
Among them, 33,000 people were found to have colorectal adenomas while 2,900 were diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
The statistics showed that nearly 60 percent of cancer patients who participated in the government’s free screening for asymptomatic residents aged between 50 and 75 were found to be in early stages, with a 95 percent survival rate.
But the early detection rate is much lower among patients who did not join the screening scheme, as only 40 percent of them were in the early stages, she said, suggesting the government’s scheme can enhance early detection and treatment for patients.
Ho urged eligible Hongkongers to undergo the subsidized screening by making appointments with primary doctors participating in the scheme.
Hong Kong United Times丨香港聯合時報丨HKUT 