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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as