The Minister of Health Christian Dubé revealed during the study of budgetary appropriations, Tuesday evening, that an announcement would take place “very quickly” concerning the deployment of a systematic screening program for colorectal cancer in Quebec.
During an exchange, Liberal Health Critic André Fortin reminded the Minister that a motion was unanimously adopted by the National Assembly earlier this month to force the government to launch a national program before the end of his term.
“I think we will go a little faster and that we will make an announcement shortly,” replied Christian Dubé.
To explain the delay which persists and which prevents from moving forward, the minister evoked the state of the computer systems of the ministry. He nevertheless insisted that he wanted to take “very short-term measures”.
The principle that the Minister wishes to adopt in his systematic screening program would be that of a collective prescription granted automatically to all Quebecers on the day of their 50e anniversary.
Concretely, Quebecers would receive an email wishing them a happy 50e birthday and the missive would be accompanied by an invitation to go to a pharmacy to get a screening test for colorectal cancer.
As reported The Canadian Press last month, Quebec is the only province that does not offer on-demand access to preventive screening tests. To obtain a test, you must first obtain a prescription from a doctor or a specialized nurse practitioner.
The most common test is a simple stool sample taken at home. The sample is then analyzed in the laboratory to check for the presence of blood.
Each year, 2,550 Quebecers die from colorectal cancer. This statistic makes it the second deadliest cancer in Quebec, even though this disease is preventable, treatable and curable according to specialists.
In the case of colon cancer, a lesion identified in time can be treated in order to prevent the development of cancer. Moreover, if the disease is diagnosed at the time of the early stages, the survival rate rises to 90%, according to data from the Canadian Cancer Society.
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