Salut warns that extending colon cancer screening to age 74 will depend on whether there are enough professionals.

BarcelonaThe Interterritorial Council of the National Health System, comprised of the Ministry of Health and the regional health departments, approved on Wednesday the expansion of colorectal cancer screening to include those up to 74 years of age. This early detection program for these tumors was previously aimed at the 50-69 age group. However, the Catalan Minister of Health, Olga Pané, announced on Friday that the rollout of this new plan will be gradual and contingent upon the availability of specialized professionals to perform the tests. "It's not a budgetary issue, but rather ensuring there are enough professionals to perform endoscopies and colonoscopies, so that there are no delays and so that other important aspects, such as acute problems or already diagnosed cancers, are not neglected," Minister Pané stated to the media.

Colon and rectal cancer is one of the most common tumors: last year alone, 7,000 cases were diagnosed in Catalonia: 4,305 in men and 2,720 in women. People at potential risk of developing the disease—the main risk factor being age—receive a letter at home or a text message encouraging them to participate in the screening.

The message includes a list of pharmacies where they can pick up thekitTo take the test at home, the system is simple: collect a stool sample with the swab, store it in a tube, and return it to one of the centers on the list for analysis. This analysis will determine if there are signs that could cause cancer (precancerous lesions) or if a positive diagnosis has already been made. If the result is negative, it is important to participate every two years to ensure that there has been no progression to a tumor.

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