National’s Manifesto promised:
Bowel cancer is the second highest cause of cancer death in New Zealand, while we have one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world. More than 3,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year and over 1,200 will die from the disease. Screening is one of the most effective ways to find bowel cancer early before it spreads. The National Bowel Screening Programme is available for eligible men and women aged 60 to 74. National will immediately commission work on a business case for progressively lowering the bowel cancer screening age to 50.
