CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The Philippine Society of Gastroenterology (PSG) turned over 2,200 fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kits on August 25 to the Philippine National Police.
The official turnover was led by PSG president Dr. Augusto Jose G. Galang and deputy PNP chief for administration Gen. Camilo Pancratius P. Cascolan through the initiative of Maj. Gen. Noel Baraceros, former director of Center for Police Strategy Management and now member of the National Advisory Group for Police Transformation and Development and the PNP general hospital.
Galang said the FIT is an easy-to-use self-administered kit intended to look for possible traces of blood in an individual’s stool specimen. It is used for screening and early detection of colorectal cancer as it is usually asymptomatic during the early stages and an effective screening program for CRC can potentially lead to the early diagnosis of this preventable and treatable condition.
Donated by Nagase Singapore, the FIT kit is used internationally to screen patients 50-years old and above, or those who are between 40 to 45-years old but are considered an above average risk of having CRC such as those with family history in their first degree consanguinity or those with other concomitant conditions like inflammatory bowel disease.
CRC remains to be the top three causes of cancer worldwide affecting both men and women. Symptoms may include rectal bleeding, change in bowel habits, anemia or pallor, unintentional weight loss or a palpable mass or lump in the abdomen.
