Colon cancer screening

Colon cancer is a malignancy that originates from a mucous membrane tumour.

Most cases of colon cancer develop as a result of a staged cancer development process from initially benign tumours or polyps. Not all polyps develop into colon cancer. Polyps can also regress, but about one in every twenty polyps will continue developing and may turn into cancer.

Development of colon cancer usually requires many cancer-causing factors to interact for many years. Disease risk significantly increases from age 50 onwards. Men and women are equally at risk for developing colon cancer.

Why should you participate in the screening?

• Screening helps to detect the disease early and increases the chance of recovery.
• Colon cancer screening searches for precancerous conditions, which means that the screening enables to prevent cancer.
• Free and easily accessible: in Estonia, colon cancer screening is free for men and women in the target group, including for the uninsured, and screening is easily accessible in family medicine centres all over the country.
• By participating in the screening you demonstrate that you care about your health.
• Screening is free for all insured and uninsured people who belong to the screening target group for a given year.

It is important to participate in the screening regardless of the presence of signs and symptoms, as early stage cancer does not show any signs. In case of early detection, it is possible to fully recover from the disease.

See when you are invited to colon cancer screening – www.sõeluuring.ee

How to participate in colon cancer screening?

You must contact your family physician to participate in the screening and make an appointment with the family nurse.

Do I have to wait for the invitation to participate in the screening?

Men and women belonging to the target group will find their invitation/referral the Health Portal (subsection ‘Appointments and referrals’) from the beginning of the screening year. Referral for screening is valid until the end of the calendar year.

You must see your family physician to participate in the screening.
Upon registration for the screening, your year of birth is checked. You must bring your identity document to your screening appointment.

Invitation to a colon cancer screening will not be sent to men and women who have been diagnosed with colon cancer in their lifetime. People who have had a colonoscopy screening test during the last 10 years are also not invited to colon cancer screening. This is based on queries to the Cancer Registry and the Health Information System.

Screening invitation

The Cancer Screening Registry will send a personal invitation to men and women in the target group.

Men and women whose year of birth is part of the screening target group and whose place of residence is the Republic of Estonia at the time of generating the screening invitation/referral are invited to a screening.

Invitations to screenings are sent electronically, using the notification service of eesti.ee. An e-invitation will be sent to persons in the screening target group whose eesti.ee email address has been redirected to their personal email address or entered in the population register.

If there is no data on the redirection of emails in the Cancer Screening Registry, a paper invitation will be sent to the address entered in the population register. If data in the population register is inaccurate, the invitation may not reach the recipient. Therefore, it is important to check the accuracy of your contact details in the State Portal.

What is the procedure for colon cancer screening?

A faecal occult blood test is used to detect precancerous conditions and early-stage colon cancer.

In colon cancer screening, the main method used is a faecal occult blood test, which helps to detect blood in faeces. A faecal occult blood test is not harmful to health.

You are given a faecal occult blood test kit at the appointment that is used to take the faecal sample. You can take the sample at home and send it to the laboratory by regular mail. The postage cost of mailing the sample has been prepaid and there are no additional associated costs.

The result of the exam will be available at your family physician 10 working days after mailing the sample or from the Health Portal (subsection ‘Appointments and referrals’).

• If the test results are negative, you are expected to screening again in two years. If your health condition changes, make sure you see your family physician.
• If the test results are positive, you are referred to additional testing. A positive test result does not mean you have colon cancer.
• If sampling is unsuccessful, i.e. there is no test result, you must contact your family medicine centre to repeat the test.