How this giant inflatable colon is helping Kahnawà:ke digest facts about cancer

Gut health isn't at the forefront of many minds, but health officials in Kahnawà:ke are hoping to change that with a nearly 13-metre long inflatable colon.

The multi-media installation is an initiative of the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada, and was brought to the Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) community south of Montreal this week, in collaboration with the Kateri Memorial Hospital Centre (KMHC) and Santé et Services Sociaux du Québec.

It features all the pathologies — from hemorrhoids and polyps to cancer — that may be found inside a colon.

"There is a significant amount of people that have been diagnosed with colon cancer in the community," said Elaine Kezar, cancer prevention and support nurse at the KMHC.

This marks the second time that the colon has toured Kahnawà:ke since 2017.

"It's important for people to be aware of the signs and symptoms, and to feel more comfortable asking questions and getting tested," said Kezar.

Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of death from cancer in men, and the third leading cause of death from cancer in women according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

The message to visitors who passed through the colon Wednesday was many colorectal diseases, including cancer, are preventable, treatable and beatable.

Health officials on-site recommend people ages 50 to 74 get screened every two years, using an at-home fecal immunochemical test (FIT) test.

"It's so curable if people take the time to do the test," said Kezar.

"It's very unfortunate that people wait too long before they go to see somebody."

Aim to get more people screened

In Kahnawà:ke, the rate of colorectal cancer was 99 per 100,000 people between 2006 and 2010 according to a 2018 health portrait of the community. Those rates of new cancer diagnoses were similar to those in the Monteregie region and the province of Quebec, however survey results indicated that only 57 per cent of people eligible for colon cancer screening tests have had at least one screening.

Dr. Colleen Fuller, a physician at the KMHC, said she'd like to see that number to increase closer to 80 per cent or similar to breast cancer screening rates.

"If people have that attitude towards breast cancer screening, to me, there's something else that's limiting people from getting colon cancer screening," she said.

Fuller said events like the giant colon can help. She was on-site to answer questions, and to provide screening tests. The event also had information booths on blood pressure, nutrition, diabetes, and cancer support.

"People are very visual and it helps to actually see what it is and kind of have that experience of what can grow in the colon in different ways," said Fuller.

"That can kind of paint a picture for people, and even helps children and younger people learn about this now so that when they get to be 50 and get to their years where they should be screened that it's not something that's totally new and shocking to them."