Test for colon cancer from your own bathroom with government initiative

Do-it-yourself colon cancer testing kits are now available to people in the eastern region of the province.

Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest death rate from colon cancer in the country.

Dr. Jerry McGrath said he hopes the home screening tests will help with early detection.

"Colon cancer is preventable," McGrath said. "So, why then are the rates so high here? Simply put, not enough people have been screened for the disease to date."

The Provincial Colon Cancer Screening Program, launched in 2012, was already available in the western, central and Labrador regions.

Anyone between the ages of 50 and 74 can request a kit and then send it back for analysis.

Over the course of three years, more than 10,300 kits were mailed to patients. About 76 per cent of those kits were returned.

A third room dedicated to endoscopy procedures has been opened at St. Clare's Hospital in St. John's. It's expected the room will allow for 240 more procedures per month.