Culturally appropriate bowel screening resources

Voiceover: Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in Aboriginal people living in South Australia. The number of people dying earlier than expected from all cancers is seventy percent higher for Aboriginal men and women than for all other Australians.

Over the age of fifty there is a higher rate of bowel cancer in Aboriginal people. Bowel cancer is being diagnosed at a younger age for both Aboriginal men and women and often at a more advanced stage.

Bowel cancer is a very serious disease which cause death, but it can be detected at a very early stage before any symptoms appear.

Screening can find any cancers or polyps early when they are easier to treat and cure

David: Hi, my name’s David and I’m an Aboriginal man descended from Kaurna and Peramangk people. And I’ve lived my whole life on the Adelaide Plains. This is my beach.

I’m also a survivor of stage three bowel cancer. Two years ago I was taken to hospital with severe stomach pains.

And the doctors to start with thought I had constipation. They did some tests and found that wasn’t the case.

They did some more tests because I was getting sicker and sicker and they found I had a tumour in my bowel.

The tumour was so bad that they told me they had to operate immediately. I had bowel cancer.

That was scary because in my language and I think a lot of Aboriginal languages there is no word for cancer. To me it just meant that I was going to die.

That was hard, but the hardest part was telling my wife and children, my young children that I almost might die.

Within 48 hours of diagnosis I was in hospital having an operation to remove the cancer. It was a huge tumour.

I went home and started to feel better. But they told me that the cancer had got into the little glands next to my bowel, in the lymph nodes, and that I had to have chemo if I was going to get better at all.

But I’m two years on and so far I’ve beaten the odds and I’m still here and I’m healthy.

But I learned some things along the way. I should have had the test earlier. I wouldn’t have had to have the chemo and my life expectancy might have been longer.

If you’ve got problems talk to your health professionals, talk to those people who look after your health.

But at the end of the day, get tested. Because the shame is not in having the test, the shame is in not having it, and having to tell your partner you’re not going to be there, or your kids or your grandkids you’re not going to see them grow up.

Peta: My name is Peta and I’m here today to tell you about my husband’s journey, and my journey as a wife, as a nurse and as a carer, of someone who has gone through bowel cancer.

My husband was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2007, end of 2007. He was working, he had, he was quite fit, didn’t smoke, had the occasional drink.

He had no signs or symptoms of any bowel cancer and that was probably furthest away from any of the illnesses that Aboriginal people face today.

He was unwell one time at work and was flown back down from Coober Pedy.

His symptoms became worse. His stomach was starting to bloat up like he was about nine months pregnant. He had a lot of gurgling and he had a MRI scan and we were back in the ward with about half an hour and all of a sudden we had, the doctor came back in and that Murray had a mass on his large bowel, and as soon as he said that I knew it wasn’t a good thing, it was cancer.

Murray being at the age of 41 being diagnosed with bowel cancer was a huge thing because we always thought bowel cancer affected older men and women.

He’s now gone through 12 months of chemotherapy, and often has checkups. He’s had a reversal of his colostomy bag and he’s back home now safe and sound.

Maurice: I found out about the bowel cancer screening process through some friends of mine who work in the Aboriginal Health Services and it was through them I actually got the test and done all the tests.

Found the test was very easy to do, there was nothing hard about it, it was quite simple.

It’s just a couple of test tubes and send off a couple of samples and they sent them to a laboratory in Melbourne.

And then I got the reports back that it was a positive test. And then we had to follow up from there and go in and do a colonoscopy.

Which, we did that and that’s when we found out there were a few polyps there. And they removed some doing the colonoscopy, but there was one real big one there that they couldn’t remove and that had to be operated on.

And that was on the small intestine. Well they booked me into the RAH for the appointment and I went in and they done that.

I think it was supposed to be keyhole surgery but I think in my case it was a little bit more than the keyhole. I think they got the whole door.

But yeah, so they did that and had to cut a part of the small intestine away. And fix all that up. And two days later I was good as gold again.

I came out of the hospital and I went to see my own private GP, and he told me that he was happy with how I was going and that. And he also informed me that if I hadn’t have had that test done when I did, that in 12 months time that would have been inoperable, to do the surgery that they done.

So that was a real good thing as far as I was concerned, they probably saved my life.

Evelyn: My name is Evelyn Cirra. I’m from Ingham in Queensland.

I heard about the bowel screening in the community and I said I’ll go and get one done.

When I got the result, it was, sort of, well to me I was sort of stunned. I didn’t know what to do or [inaudible]

Well I talked to the health workers, and they explained it to me, at least make it easier for me. And when I went to see them, made it much more simpler.

I’m feeling great at the moment I said. I don’t let it get the better of me at this stage. Either beat it, and think positive, [inaudible] negative.

I did it for my own personal, my own personal health. And that way I can know I’ve done it.

And gives me my peace of mind, and it’s a load off my mind which is really great to do.

At first I thought it was going to be [inaudible] and I thought it was going to be hard but it wasn’t. At least I know it’s been done.

Martha: My name is Martha [inaudible] and I’m an Arabana woman from the mid north of South Australia, near Lake Eyre.

First of all I did see it on television occasionally here and there but I didn’t take much notice of it.

Until I came along to my women’s group here, our healing and health group here at Gilles Plains.

And the health worker approached me and said would I like to be involved with it? And that’s how I found out about it.

Oh no our [inaudible] we don’t speak about things like that, we never have, been approached in that way, manner and whatever.

And it was like, our way, saying it’s a shame job, we don’t want to do that, no way am I going to do that.

You know I felt embarrassed, how am I going to cope, is it going to be hard, you know, and then I had the health workers there. And also brought my son along, he came along too. Good result, very good result for both of us. Lovely. Good outcome.

Before doing it, like I said, I wasn’t sure whether, it was great for me to get that result, but little did I know in the meantime while I was deciding, undeciding, shall I do it, shall I not you know, and I didn’t know there was a member of my family in the theatre having an operation with this same blessed thing that we’re on about now with the bowel cancer.

So that was really important and I’m so happy that I’ve done it, and a good results. But you know, I’m glad that a family member of mine has pulled through and so far, so good.

With our community out there what I would say to them, please go along, don’t feel ashamed because we’ve got good health workers that you can approach easily enough.

And if you can’t understand the language, what the words of the medical terms, get them to break it down into your kind of language.

I always say that, break it down so I can understand what you’re on about please.

And don’t be afraid, you know, it’s there. And you’ve got good health workers.

Go to your community. You must be able to talk to somebody, that will help you.

Voiceover: How to do the test.

Do your wee first, then flush the toilet.

If you are using a paper sheet, put the sheet in the toilet bowl on top of the water, with the picture facing up.

If you are using a cardboard container, put it in the toilet or on the ground.

Pass the kudna, or bowel motion onto the paper sheet.

Insert the tip of the collection stick into the kudna. Drag the tip of the stick along the kudna back and forward.

Insert the stick into the top of the small tube that has been labelled with your name of the sample.

If you used a paper sheet, flush it away. If you used the cardboard container, put any leftover kudna in the toilet and the cardboard container in the bin.

You will need to do this again using the second collection stick.

The second test is as important as the first test. This should be taken from another kudna sample, or bowel motion, not the same as the first.

If you have more than one kudna on the same day you can collect both samples on that day.

Keep the sample in a cool dry place or in the fridge but not in the freezer. Please keep the sample away from food until the second sample is taken, or take it to your clinic.

Shane: Hi, my name is Shane Burgess and I’m an Aboriginal Clinical Health worker. I’m currently working on the Aboriginal Bowel Cancer screening.

What I want to tell you mob today is that it’s important to get your health checked, and bowel cancer is a big thing in our community at the moment.

There is a big shame job about bowel cancer, and the screening. But you know, it’s better to be healthy than to be sick.

There are a lot of people who have been screened now, there are a lot of negatives coming out but we do have positives. And positives can be treated, if you have a lot of support from your health worker, your community Aboriginal medical centres, and there is information around now about Aboriginal bowel cancer.

So really consider about getting yourself tested because, you know, it’s nor shame job, it’s looking after yourself, and you know, Aboriginal health in your hands as well.

Martha: To my people out there in the community, please don’t be ashamed of going along to have the test done, because it’s very important. Because in the long run, it could be a real good result for you, knowing that it’s not going to be always positive, it could be negative and it’s going to be a good outcome in the long run.

So please go along.

David: So brothers and sisters, aunties uncles. If you’re over 40, go and have a test. Go talk to your health professional.

There’s no shame in having the test. It’s a bit uncomfortable, it’s a bit embarrassing maybe for you. But there’s no shame.

The shame is not having the test. The shame is having to tell your partner that you’re not going to be there for them anymore. Or having to tell your children, or your grandchildren that you’re not going to see them grow up, and see all the good things.

It just doesn’t impact on us as the person who has the bowel cancer, it impacts on our family, our community and our friends.

So go and get tested.

Voiceover: Screening early can help protect you from bowel cancer. There is no shame in having the screening test.

The only shame is not being tested. Getting bowel cancer and not living to see your kids and grandkids grow.

Bowel cancer doesn’t just affect you. It impacts on your family, and whole community.

So don’t leave it too late. Today is the day to stand up and say I’m living a long healthy life with my family.

Bowel cancer screening is part of your wellbeing. Have a full health check today.