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Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, after attending a public function today (April 13):
Reporter: Can you tell us more about the (Colorectal Cancer) Screening (Pilot) Programme? How many elderly people do you expect could benefit from the programme?
Secretary for Food and Health: The Government announced in the Policy Address that we would launch a Colorectal Cancer Screening Pilot Programme. As we all know, colon and rectum cancer has already become the number one killer in Hong Kong, surpassing lung cancer. The Department of Health will very soon announce details of the first stage of the pilot scheme and invite private healthcare service providers to participate in the programme. Thereafter, in the later part of the year, we will appeal to Hong Kong people in the target age group to join the scheme by visiting general medical practitioners or family doctors for stool occult blood tests. Those who have samples with positive results will be invited to undergo colonoscopy examinations. Public hospitals should have the priority to serve patients who have been diagnosed or have symptoms requiring examinations. We also envisage that there would be a public-private partnership programme for fecal occult blood tests as well as colonoscopy.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Issued at HKT 16:54
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