The number of people with cancer is only expected to increase in the coming years. Population surveys are one way to combat this. How does such a study work? And what can you expect?
Er bestaan drie soorten bevolkingsonderzoeken: voor borstkanker, baarmoederhalskanker en darmkanker. Eraan meedoen is vrijwillig en gratis, zegt Agnes Bouwman, manager marketing en communicatie bij Bevolkingsonderzoek Nederland.
Bevolkingsonderzoeken kunnen helpen deze ziektes in een vroeg stadium op te sporen. Het Integraal Kankercentrum meldt dat het aantal nieuwe darmkankergevallen sinds 2015 sterk afneemt. Dat komt doordat beginnende kanker vaak al kan worden ontdekt voordat het uitgroeit tot kanker. Toch gaat nog steeds maar 70 procent van de mensen die in aanmerking komen in op de uitnodiging.
Wie krijgen een uitnodiging?
- Baarmoederhalskanker: vrouwen van 30 jaar t/m 60 jaar
- Darmkanker: mannen en vrouwen van 55 jaar t/m 75 jaar
- Borstkanker: vrouwen van 50 jaar t/m 75 jaar
To take away the nerves, NU.nl found out what you can expect from the cervical cancer and colon cancer screening. For these examinations you can take a test yourself at home. And for those who fear having to scoop their own poop out of the toilet: that is really not the case.
You don’t have to send shit
“You receive a tube by post with a stick in it. You use that stick to prick your stool four times. That is sufficient. So you don’t have to send poop,” says Bouwman. Your stool is then examined in the laboratory for blood.
“If blood is found, you will receive a referral by post to a hospital or treatment center nearby. There your intestines will then be further examined.”
Even in the case of cervical cancer, many women experience a barrier to having themselves examined. Women who want to avoid the duckbill can therefore choose between a self-test and a smear test since 2023.
The advantage of the self-test is that you can do this at home – in a safe and pleasant environment – when it suits you. “The self-sampling test consists of a tube with a stick in it. You insert that stick into your vagina to collect a little vaginal material,” says Bouwman.
It is not mandatory
This tube is also sent to a laboratory and examined for the HPV virus. If the virus is detected, you should still go to the doctor.
Participation is not mandatory, but is recommended by, among others, the KWF. In the long term, the population screening for colon cancer can help prevent 2,400 of the 7,000 deaths caused by colon cancer every year.
And in the case of cervical cancer, early detection can better treat the disease or prevent the cancer from developing.
If you have not received an invitation, you cannot participate, says Bouwman. “If you have complaints or symptoms or are in doubt about them, you should always go to your GP. That is not what the population survey is for. You cannot register yourself to participate. You will be automatically invited if you fall into the age category and it is your turn are.”
You don’t want to worry people unnecessarily
How reliable are these population surveys actually? There must always be a trade-off between detecting cancers and unnecessarily worrying people who then turn out not to be ill, says Patricia Hugen, program manager of population studies for cancer at the RIVM.
“Unfortunately, you do not know this in advance. Also, not all cancers are detected, so it is possible that someone is wrongly reassured and that some time later it turns out to be cancer. So it always remains a trade-off between the pros and cons. “But in general you can say that participating is a responsible choice. Otherwise, the population screenings for cancer would not be offered.”
