Keep your colon rollin’ with new colon cancer screening test

Rob Birnie of Cayuga

To The Haldimand Press

CAYUGA—“That old saying still holds true,” says Cayuga resident Rob Birnie, owner of the Hamilton-based plumbing company Birnie and Sons. “I would encourage people to keep their colon rollin’ by taking the province’s new colon cancer screening test.”

Rob, along with four of his colleagues, are partnering with the Regional Cancer Program to promote a new at-home test that screens for signs of colorectal cancer, commonly called colon or bowel cancer.  Joining him are company directors Bob and Roy Birnie, plumber Paul Spelman, and operations manager Gerry O’Shaughnessy.

The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) is now available free across the province through Cancer Care Ontario’s organized colon cancer screening program, Colon Cancer Check. This test is for Ontario residents, ages 50 to 74, with no first-degree relative (parent, sibling, or child) diagnosed with colon cancer and no symptoms such as changes in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, or abdominal pain. This screening program targets the 50-to-74 age range because that’s when people are at the greatest risk of developing colon cancer.