About Us
Rotary Bowelscan is an annual bowel cancer prevention project involving over 300 Rotary Clubs across Australia, working to reduce the number of lives lost to this disease.
The idea behind Rotary BowelScan was first developed in 1982 in northern New South Wales by a local general practitioner and fellow Rotarian, Dr N. E Brand, who identified the need for a low cost, easy to use diagnostic test for bowel cancer.
The aim of the BowelScan program is to:
- Enhance public awareness of the need of bowel cancer screening;
- Promote and coordinate the BowelScan program annually;
- Emphasize the importance of bowel cancer screening for both men and women over the age of 40.
With the support of hundreds of pharmacies throughout Australia, the program distributes BowelScan testing kits to many local communities, allowing people the opportunity to test themselves early and regularly to maximize their chances of survival.
BowelScan kits are affordable, easy to use and include pathology testing by accredited analysts such as Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology in Queensland. All proceeds from the kits are put back into the program to allow it to continue to provide this valuable community service.
Since its humble beginnings, the program has grown significantly with the support of Australian Rotary Health (the Rotary Research Foundation), participating pharmacies and Rotary volunteers to continue to save the lives of thousands of Australian men and women from bowel cancer.
