News release

Public Lecture, Colon Cancer Prevention Program

Cancer Care Nova Scotia

Nova Scotians will have information to help prevent colon cancer and find it earlier when treatment is more effective after a public lecture hosted by Cancer Care Nova Scotia on Tuesday, May 12.

The Colon Cancer Prevention Program will be the topic of the lecture in Halifax and available by video conference at 20 sites across the province. It is part of the Cancer Answers lecture series, designed to provide Nova Scotians with quality cancer information.

The lecture will be presented by Dr. Bernard Badley, medical director, Cancer Care Nova Scotia's Colon Cancer Prevention Program.

Dr. Badley said there is no doubt that the Colon Cancer Prevention Program can save lives.

"Colon cancer is a potentially preventable cancer," he said. Because colon cancers start as small non-cancerous growths (polyps) in the colon, the screening program can identify and remove these polyps before they turn to cancer. It can also find cancers at an early stage when the chance of cure is much greater. In fact, studies have shown that screening programs reduce the number of people dying from the disease by up to one-third."

"Colon cancer affects too many Nova Scotians," said Theresa Marie Underhill, chief operating officer, Cancer Care Nova Scotia. "We can do something to change the lives of the 800 Nova Scotians who are diagnosed with this disease every year by getting ahead of the curve with screening."

The lecture will provide information about our new screening program for colon cancer and the advantages of being screened. The lecture will be held between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the Royal Bank Lecture Theatre, Halifax Infirmary, 1796 Summer St. and available by video conference at:

  • Dartmouth General Hospital, Dartmouth
  • Hants Community Hospital, Windsor
  • Eastern Memorial Hospital, Canso
  • St. Martha's Regional Hospital, Antigonish
  • Strait Richmond Hospital, Evanston
  • St. Anne Community and Nursing Care Centre, Arichat
  • Guysborough Memorial Hospital, Guysborough
  • Colchester Regional Hospital, Truro
  • Aberdeen Hospital, New Glasgow
  • Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre, Amherst
  • South Shore Regional Hospital, Bridgewater
  • Soldiers Memorial Hospital, Middleton
  • Valley Regional Hospital, Kentville
  • Shoreham Village, Chester
  • Cape Breton Regional Hospital, Sydney
  • Inverness Consolidated Memorial Hospital, Inverness
  • Victoria County Memorial Hospital, Baddeck
  • Eskasoni Health Centre, Eskasoni
  • Yarmouth Regional Hospital, Yarmouth
  • Roseway Hospital, Shelburne

Cancer Care Nova Scotia, a program of the Department of Health, was created 10 years ago to facilitate quality cancer prevention and care for all Nova Scotians. Through Cancer Patient Navigation, health professional education, and standards and guideline development, CCNS supports health professionals in providing patients with high quality care. Its work with other organizations raises awareness about the importance of healthy lifestyles in reducing cancer risk, and its screening programs educate Nova Scotians about healthy lifestyles and available testing like Pap tests for cervical cancer and the FIT kit for colorectal cancer. The goal is to find cancer earlier and treat it better.