New endoscopy room opens at Dartmouth General

Around 800 Nova Scotians get diagnosed with colorectal cancer annually

CITYnews halifax \ Meghan Groff

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A new endoscopy room has opened at Dartmouth General Hospital.

The Department of Health and Wellness says this will mean 125 more people will be able to have colonoscopies every month.

The Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation contributed more than $215,000 for the facility, which is the hospital’s third endoscopy room.

“The opening of this third suite represents a significant increase in the volume of colon cancer screening colonoscopies done at Dartmouth General Hospital,” said Endoscopy Site Lead, Dr. Chadwick Williams. “This translates into saving Nova Scotian lives through the prevention of colon cancer. It is a big deal.”

“It is a major step forward for Nova Scotia and will help our provincial screening program meet important timelines and clinical benchmarks.”

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer among both men and women in Canada. Around 800 Nova Scotians get diagnosed annually, which are among the highest rates in the country.

All Nova Scotians between the ages of 50 and 74 receive home screening kits, and those in that age group are encouraged to take one every two years.

Last year, there were almost 4,000 colonoscopies completed in the province to follow-up on abnormal home screening results, 1,200 of those were in Central Zone, which includes the Halifax area.

The province say 927 of those colonoscopies found precancerous growths, which were able to be removed, preventing colon cancer from developing.