Hamilton man leads calls to lower colorectal cancer screening age

A 45-year-old Hamilton man is among those leading calls to lower the screening age for colorectal cancer in Ontario.

Bishop Brigante is a husband and father of two who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer last year.

“Back in October after a couple years of misdiagnosis and all types of symptoms I finally got a colonoscopy at age 45 after pushing my doctor, and pushing my doctor, pushing my doctor. I finally got a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with colorectal cancer.”

The current screening age for the form of cancer sits at 50-years-of-age.

“Just that age criteria didn’t resonate with me so I started a petition and low and behold we went from 200 to 1,000 to 5,000 – 10,000 in a rapid time frame.” explained Brigante.

He began a petition on January 26 that has since made its way to Queen’s Park after gaining nearly 30,000 signatures.

The provincial Ministry of Health released a statement reacting to the petition that doubled down on its recommended screening age.

The statement reads in part, “Individuals who have a first-degree relative diagnosed with colorectal cancer are considered to be at increased risk and are recommended to screen with colonoscopy.”

Cassandra Macauley is a spokesperson for Colorectal Cancer Resource and Action Network. She says the current screening is based on 2016 clinical practice guidelines and don’t meet current recommendations.

“The rates of colorectal cancer are actually rising at an alarming rate for those under 50 years old.” said Macauley, the senior manager of programs and education.

She says the disease is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Canada and the third most diagnosed cancer in men and women.

“Not only are these young Canadians ineligible for screening but their symptoms are often dismissed from healthcare professionals solely based on their age.”

Symptoms include blood in the stool, fatigue and stomach pains among others.

Just last year 24,100 Canadians were diagnosed with the disease and 9,300 lost their lives as a result of it.

“The screening age in the U.S. has been lowered to 45 and I think it’s time for Canada to follow suit.”

“If I waited till I was 50, unfortunately we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I might not be here.” said Brigante.