The fecal occult blood test is one of a number of effective methods for detecting colorectal cancer at an early stage, but nearly 70 percent of the public shun the life-saving test due to reluctance to face their health problems, according to a survey released yesterday by the Taiwan Medical Association.
The survey was conducted among 631 doctors from clinics to help gauge patients’ perceptions of the screening test through the eyes of medical professionals.
Asked to name the reasons stopping patients from undergoing the fecal occult blood test, 72.01 percent of the doctors said patients believed they were healthy, while 67.62 percent avoided the test because they did not want to face any potential health issues, the results showed.
Meanwhile, 47.05 percent of doctors said patients feared a potential ensuing colonoscopy should their test results return positive, 34.04 percent did not have the time and 24.21 percent complained about what they said was an inconvenient testing process, the survey said.
The association said that colorectal cancer patients have outnumbered those with liver cancer since 2006 in Taiwan, with the former type of cancer having been at the top of the 10 most common cancers in the country for years.
“The incidence and mortality rates for colorectal cancer in Taiwan are 1.4 times and 1.7 times those recorded in the US,” the association said.
Despite the Health Promotion Administration’s 2004 policy of offering free fecal occult blood tests to people aged between 50 and 69 biennially, and further expansion of the program in June last year to those aged between 70 and 74, only 22 percent of eligible recipients received the test between 2008 and 2010, compared with 60 percent in the US, it said.
Taiwan Medical Association chairman Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉) said that of people in the 50 to 74 age group, about one in 30 developed colorectal polyps and one in 300 developed colorectal cancer.
“Many colorectal cancer cases evolved from polyps, which can be picked up by a fecal occult blood test and hence treated earlier,” Su said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
RSS