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Third endoscopy room opens at Dartmouth General Hospital

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A new colon cancer screening and treatment room has opened at the Dartmouth General Hospital -- the third of its kind at the facility.

The province says the third room will allow about 125 more people a month to have a colonoscopy as part of Nova Scotia's Colon Cancer Prevention Program.

All Nova Scotians aged 50 to 74 receive home screening kits every two years through the program, with the goal of catching cancer early.

People with abnormal results are then referred for a colonoscopy.

Dr. Chadwick Williams, Dartmouth General Hospital’s endoscopy site lead and internal medicine site lead, calls the opening of the third room “a big deal.”

"The opening of this third suite represents a significant increase in the volume of colon cancer screening colonoscopies done at Dartmouth General Hospital. This translates into saving Nova Scotian lives through the prevention of colon cancer,” he said in a news release.

The province says almost 4,000 colonoscopies were completed last year for people with abnormal home screening results and 927 Nova Scotians had precancerous growths found and removed.

"When a cancer is detected early, patients have more treatment options and a better chance at survival and recovery," said Nova Scotia Minister of Health and Wellness Michelle Thompson. "The new endoscopy room will allow more patients to get the care they need sooner, which may save their life."

The Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation contributed more than $215,000 towards the new room.

"The Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation is thrilled to be able to work with Dartmouth General's amazing endoscopy team and our incredible GUT (Get Up There) donors who helped fund the equipment for this third endoscopy suite," said the foundation’s president and CEO, Stephen Harding.

According to the province, Nova Scotia has some of the highest colorectal cancer rates in Canada -- about 800 new cases are diagnosed annually. 

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