A Kerry County Councillor is criticising a decision not to extend the bowel screening programme to people aged over 70.
Kerry Independent Alliance councillor John O’Donogue tabled a motion on the issue at the recent monthly meeting of Kerry County Council.
The HSE says bowel screening aims to detect signs of bowel cancer at an early stage, where there are no symptoms; it says if bowel cancer is found early, it’s easier to treat and there’s a better chance of recovery.
The test is free for people aged 57 to 71 in Ireland.
Cllr John O’Donoghue previously tabled a motion calling for the test to be expanded beyond the age of 70 and at this month’s meeting he tabled another reiterating his call, stating he was disappointed with the response he’d received following his initial motion.
He says the response didn’t mention people aged over 70 and he finds this startling, saying people are living longer now and this type of cancer is relatively treatable when caught early.
Cllr O’Donoghue claimed he believed the policy is ‘discriminatory’ and quoted World Health Organisation figures stating that 50% of bowel cancer diagnoses are in those over 70.
He called on the council to write to the Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to find out what the rationale is behind the decision to not automatically including this age cohort.
