The Rotorua Daily Post previously reported Health NZ data showed 56.8% of bowel cancer screening kits sent to eligible Lakes residents between February 2019 and June 2022 were returned.
More recent data has shown a decline in the participation rate, with 54.3% of kits returned.
The data - received under the Official Information Act - showed 27,694 kits were sent between August 1, 2022, and May 26, 2025.
When broken down by ethnicity, fewer than half of the kits sent to Māori (43%), Pasifika (39.6%), and Asian (41.4%) people were returned.
The data showed 18 cancers were detected during this time, and 13 surgeries were done to remove bowel cancer.
Health NZ noted this may include people who had surgery who did not have their cancer detected via a screening kit, and that some patients may have had surgery in another district, or privately.
Patients who chose chemotherapy treatment would not be recorded in surgery numbers.
“It’s sort of just the luck of the draw, really. And I’m lucky to be on the good side of it whereas I’ve heard a lot of people who aren’t.”
He encouraged people to be aware of their body and to see a GP if they had any symptoms.
For those eligible to be tested, “just do it”.
“It takes five minutes to do, and it could be a lifesaver.”
Bowel cancer is the second-highest cause of cancer death in NZ, killing about three Kiwis every day. One in 10 Kiwis diagnosed are aged under 50.
Bowel Cancer NZ said new research showed one in four adults surveyed could not name a bowel cancer symptom.
Chief executive Peter Huskinson said symptom awareness was the “strongest line of defence” with screening currently limited to those aged 58 and older.
“Acting early, before symptoms become severe, can mean the difference between a treatable diagnosis at the GP and a late-stage emergency presentation.
“That free test in your mailbox doesn’t just detect cancer - it can stop it before it starts,” he said.
“Don’t leave it in a drawer. Put it by the loo and get it done.”
