Southerners have one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world and a bowel screening programme will be rolled out in the region in 2017-18.
The screening program will be for people aged 60-74, but Bowel Cancer New Zealand believes it should be for people aged 50-74.
Bowel Cancer New Zealand executive officer Rebekah Heal said a pilot screening program in the North Island had picked up people with bowel cancer in their 50s.
She otherwise welcomed the screening program being rolled out in the south and encouraged the public to get on board, saying it could save lives.
Bowel cancer had a 70 per cent survivability rate if caught early, she said.
Read the full story including Associate Professor Brian Cox's comments on Stuff