CancerCare Manitoba, with funding from Manitoba Health, established the Manitoba Colorectal Cancer Screening Program in April 2007. This screening program became ColonCheck Manitoba in August 2009. The goal of the program is to help detect colorectal cancer early and reduce the number of Manitobans who die from the disease. The population-based program targets individuals of average risk between the ages of 50 & 74 for screening with a Fecal Occult Blood test (FOBT). In the first two years of the program, 25000 individuals were invited to participate in the program. In September 2008, Manitoba Health announced additional funding to expand the program provincewide. Over the next few years, ColonCheck Manitoba will be inviting eligible people from all regions of the province.
The role of the primary health care provider in recommending colorectal screening using a FOBT is essential in improving screening rates and reducing deaths from colorectal cancer in Manitoba. Please continue to screen your patients using the FOBT or additional tests as necessary.