Cancer Council, in partnership with the Australian Government, is encouraging all Australians aged 50 – 74, including those in culturally and linguistically diverse communities, to participate in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program by doing the simple at-home test when they receive it in the mail.
Bowel cancer is Australia’s second biggest cancer killer, yet if caught early, 90% of cases can be successfully treated.
Research indicates that five specific language groups other than English are amongst those who would benefit from greater awareness and reminders about bowel cancer screening, based on their population size and screening rates.
This campaign aims to encourage eligible people within Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Italian and Mandarin-speaking communities to do the free and simple at-home test, by providing multi-lingual resources and messaging specific to each community group.
Cancer Council research shows that these community groups have experienced various barriers to bowel screening, including:
- 2% of eligible Arabic-speaking Australians surveyed had never heard of the at-home test to screen for bowel cancer.
- 4% of eligible Cantonese-speaking Australians surveyed noted feeling uncomfortable doing the test.
- 6% of eligible Greek-speaking Australians surveyed didn’t feel motivated to do their bowel screening test.
- 38% of eligible Italian-speaking Australians surveyed didn’t know that free bowel cancer screening is available.
- 6% of eligible Mandarin-speaking Australians surveyed didn’t feel motivated to do their bowel screening test.
With your support, we can help reduce the impact of bowel cancer among all Australians. You can share these multi-lingual resources with your community to help raise awareness of the importance of bowel screening today:
- Social media posts
- Multi-lingual information about bowel screening from Cancer Council and the Australian Government
Find out more at Cancer Council’s Campaign Hub, where all these resources are available.
Over the next eight weeks, listen out for in-language ads across SBS Radio featuring prominent community health professionals, and look out for the ads on your social media channels.
You can also start a conversation with your friends and family about bowel screening, or reach out to a doctor or health professional to discuss the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.
Information and resources with messaging specific to each of the 5 language groups can be accessed at www.bowelcancer.org.au, or you can speak to someone in your language by contacting the Translating and Interpreting Service on 13 14 50.